Conference Description
Key Takeaways
- Fifth edition of an established academic workshop focused on automotive cybersecurity research and practice
- Held in conjunction with IEEE EuroS&P 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal on 10 July 2026
- Covers hardware security, V2X communications, intrusion detection, firmware vulnerabilities and privacy-preserving technologies
- Addresses the gap between emerging security threats and the slow adoption of protective mechanisms in mass-produced vehicles
- Designed for security researchers, automotive engineers, system designers and industry professionals
Introduction
The Automotive Cyber Security Workshop (ACSW) returns for its fifth edition in July 2026, bringing together researchers and practitioners working on the security and privacy challenges facing modern vehicle systems. Held as a post-conference workshop alongside IEEE EuroS&P 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal, the event provides a dedicated forum for examining how cyber-physical systems in vehicles can be protected against an expanding threat landscape. As vehicles become increasingly connected through external networks, infotainment platforms and vehicle-to-everything communication protocols, the attack surface available to malicious actors continues to grow. ACSW addresses this reality by focusing on practical security solutions that account for the unique constraints of automotive environments.
About This Event
ACSW operates as an academic and industry-focused workshop that combines keynote presentations, discussion panels, tutorials and peer-reviewed paper presentations. The workshop format encourages direct engagement between participants, facilitating the exchange of ideas between those conducting fundamental research and those implementing security measures in production environments. By co-locating with IEEE EuroS&P, one of the premier European conferences on security and privacy, ACSW benefits from proximity to a broader community of security researchers while maintaining its specialised focus on automotive applications.
The event takes place on 10 July 2026 in Lisbon, offering a single-day programme structured around the most pressing technical and operational challenges in vehicle security. This concentrated format allows attendees to engage deeply with automotive-specific content without the dilution that can occur at larger, more general security conferences.
Technical Focus Areas
The workshop programme spans multiple layers of the automotive security stack, from hardware-level protections through to network communications and infrastructure security. Hardware security remains a foundational concern, as the embedded controllers and processing units within vehicles present attractive targets for attackers seeking persistent access or the ability to manipulate safety-critical functions.
Firmware vulnerability assessment and reverse engineering feature prominently in the technical agenda. Modern vehicles contain dozens of electronic control units running proprietary firmware, and understanding how these systems can be analysed for weaknesses is essential for both offensive security research and defensive hardening. The workshop encourages contributions that demonstrate practical techniques for identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in these constrained computing environments.
Vehicle communication security represents another major theme. In-vehicle networks such as CAN bus were designed decades ago without security as a primary consideration, and retrofitting protection mechanisms presents significant engineering challenges. Beyond the vehicle itself, V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) and V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communications introduce additional complexity. These protocols enable vehicles to share information about road conditions, traffic and potential hazards, but they also create new vectors for attack if not properly secured. The workshop examines both the threats to these communication channels and the cryptographic and protocol-level defences being developed to protect them.
Intrusion detection and prevention systems adapted for automotive contexts also receive attention. Unlike traditional IT environments, vehicles operate under strict real-time constraints and cannot tolerate security mechanisms that introduce latency into safety-critical functions. Developing detection capabilities that can identify malicious activity without compromising vehicle performance requires careful consideration of automotive-specific requirements.
Privacy-preserving applications round out the technical programme. Modern vehicles collect substantial amounts of data about driver behaviour, location history and vehicle usage patterns. Balancing the legitimate uses of this data against the privacy expectations of vehicle owners presents ongoing challenges, particularly as infotainment systems become more sophisticated and connected.
Industry Context and Regulatory Developments
The automotive industry faces a fundamental tension between the pace of security research and the realities of vehicle production cycles. While researchers may identify vulnerabilities and develop countermeasures relatively quickly, implementing these solutions in mass-produced vehicles involves lengthy development timelines, extensive testing requirements and the need to maintain compatibility with existing infrastructure. This gap between what is technically possible and what is practically deployable creates persistent security challenges that ACSW seeks to address.
Regulatory frameworks are beginning to catch up with these technical realities. Standards bodies and government agencies have introduced requirements for automotive cybersecurity management systems, forcing manufacturers to demonstrate systematic approaches to identifying and mitigating security risks throughout the vehicle lifecycle. The workshop provides a venue for discussing how these regulatory requirements translate into practical engineering decisions and where current standards may fall short of addressing emerging threats.
The increasing electrification of vehicles and the growth of autonomous driving capabilities add further dimensions to the security challenge. Electric vehicles introduce new attack surfaces through charging infrastructure and battery management systems, while autonomous systems must be protected against adversarial inputs that could cause dangerous driving behaviour. These evolving vehicle architectures ensure that automotive cybersecurity will remain an active area of research and development for years to come.
Who Should Attend
ACSW is designed for individuals working at the intersection of cybersecurity and automotive technology. Academic researchers investigating vehicle security will find opportunities to present their work and receive feedback from peers and industry practitioners. Security engineers employed by automotive manufacturers and their suppliers can gain insight into emerging threats and defensive techniques that may inform their own development efforts.
The workshop also serves cybersecurity analysts responsible for assessing automotive systems, system designers working on next-generation vehicle architectures, and professionals from technology companies developing security solutions for the automotive sector. The combination of academic rigour and practical focus makes ACSW valuable for anyone seeking to understand both the theoretical foundations and real-world applications of automotive cybersecurity.
Bridging Research and Practice
One of the workshop’s distinguishing characteristics is its emphasis on the replication and reproduction of security solutions. Academic security research sometimes struggles to translate into practical implementations, either because proposed solutions do not scale to production environments or because the details necessary for reproduction are not adequately documented. By explicitly encouraging contributions that address reproducibility, ACSW helps bridge the gap between laboratory demonstrations and deployable security measures.
This focus on practical applicability extends to the workshop’s treatment of automotive-related infrastructures. Vehicle security does not exist in isolation; it depends on the security of manufacturing systems, diagnostic tools, over-the-air update mechanisms and the broader ecosystem of services that support connected vehicles. ACSW recognises this interdependence and welcomes contributions that address security challenges across the full automotive value chain.