Automotive Cybersecurity Foundations
The threat landscape, vehicle architecture and regulatory context every automotive engineer needs.
- Duration
- 4 weeks
- Delivery format
- Hybrid
- Certification
- AutoSec Foundation
Overview
What This Program Is For
Foundations exists because most automotive cybersecurity failures are not exotic — they are decisions made by capable engineers who had no reason to know the security implications. This program gives an engineering organisation a shared vocabulary and a shared threat model, so later technical work starts from common ground rather than from argument.
A structured entry point into automotive cybersecurity. Covers connected vehicle attack surfaces, in-vehicle network fundamentals and the regulatory landscape that now governs every production programme.
Who should attend
- Automotive engineers new to cybersecurity as a discipline
- Project and programme managers accountable for security deliverables
- Quality and compliance staff preparing for ISO 21434 work
- Anyone joining a team with an active CSMS obligation
Prerequisites
- Working knowledge of automotive E/E systems
Curriculum
4 Modules Across 4 weeks
Every module is assessed. Durations are indicative for open cohorts and are compressed or extended for corporate delivery.
Threat landscape and case studies
1 weekVehicle E/E architecture and networks
1 weekRegulation and standards overview
1 weekSecurity by design fundamentals
1 week
Learning outcomes
What You Take Back to Your Programme
Capability you can demonstrate, not topics you have been exposed to.
What you will be able to do
- Describe the connected vehicle attack surface
- Explain ISO/SAE 21434 and UNECE R155 in engineering terms
- Identify security-relevant assets in a vehicle architecture
- Apply security-by-design principles to everyday decisions
Career outcomes
- Automotive Engineer
- Project Manager
- Quality Engineer
Capability levels
- Cybersecurity Awareness
Tools and skills
- Threat modelling canvas
- CAN bus analyser
- Regulatory clause map
Certification mapping
Where This Sits in the Framework
How the program maps to the AutoSec Automotive Cybersecurity Capability Framework™ and the certification ladder.
Capability Framework
Cybersecurity Awareness
Establish foundational automotive cybersecurity literacy and threat landscape understanding.
- Threat landscape overview
- Connected vehicle architecture basics
- Introduction to ISO 21434 and UNECE regulations
Certification
AutoSec Certified Foundation
Proves working literacy in automotive cybersecurity: attack surfaces, in-vehicle networks and the regulatory landscape that governs every production programme.
Exam preparation
- Format
- online proctored
- Duration
- 60 minutes
- Passing score
- 70%
- Valid for
- 3 years
- Complete Automotive Cybersecurity Foundations
- Pass the foundation assessment
Common questions
Automotive Cybersecurity Foundations FAQ
What candidates and their managers ask before enrolling.
- Do I need a security background to take Foundations?
- No. The program assumes automotive engineering context — you know what an ECU is and roughly how a vehicle network is put together — and builds the security layer on top of that. Candidates arriving from IT security rather than automotive sometimes find the first week slow and the second week unexpectedly unfamiliar.
- Is there assessed lab time in this program?
- Foundations includes demonstrations rather than assessed lab work. Hands-on assessment begins with TARA Specialist and Secure ECU Developer, both of which include supervised lab practicals on production-representative hardware.
- What does the Foundation certification actually evidence?
- That you can describe the connected vehicle attack surface, explain ISO/SAE 21434 and UNECE R155 in engineering terms, and identify security-relevant assets in an architecture. It is a literacy credential, and it is the prerequisite for the Practitioner level.
Ready to Start AutoSec Foundation?
Enrol as an individual, or talk to us about running this program for your engineering team.