TARA is essentially a structured way of thinking like an attacker.
Instead of waiting for a vulnerability to be discovered after the vehicle is on the road, engineers try to identify potential threats during development and assess how serious they could be.
The goal isn't to predict every possible attack.
It's to understand what could go wrong, how it could happen, and how much effort should be invested in protecting against it.
Step 1: Identify the assets
Step 2: Identify the damage
Step 3: Identify the threats
Step 4: Assess the attack feasibility
Step 5: Define the risk
Step 6: Define security assessments and goals
And just like cybersecurity itself, TARA isn't necessarily a one-time activity that happens at the beginning of a project and is then forgotten.
This is particularly important for connected and software-defined vehicles, where systems can continue to evolve long after the vehicle leaves the factory.
So TARA is not about creating a perfect prediction of every attack that could ever happen.
It's about creating a structured, risk-based approach to understanding threats and making informed cybersecurity decisions.
📮 Please feel free to leave your comments if you have any questions and I appreciate your suggestions and feedback. See you in the next episode!!!
🖋️ Priya