Ikjot Saini

How three UWindsor students cracked open vehicle communication safety at an international hackathon

Hashim Tayyab ShahHashim Tayyab Shah presents at the inaugural OmniAir Hackathon held at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. (Courtesy of Hashim Tayyab Shah/University of Windsor)

By Sara Elliott 

A future where vehicles communicate directly with one another is not so distant — but is the technology safe enough to deploy?  

That question was at the centre of the inaugural OmniAir Hackathon held at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where three University of Windsor graduate students earned first place for their research. 

Securing the road ahead: SHIELD research centre leads in automotive cybersecurity

Shiva Nejati and Kunj Dhonde working on circuitryDoctoral students Shiva Nejati and Kunj Dhonde are part of a UWindsor research team working to make the vehicles of tomorrow safe from cyber attack.

At the University of Windsor, two teams — red and blue — are locked in a strategic battle, working toward the same goal: safeguarding the future of automotive cybersecurity.

These teams, operating from the Automotive Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, better known as SHIELD, are focused on opposing areas of security solutions for the auto sector.

With an eye on the future, SHIELD, the only centre of its kind in North America, has the goal of ensuring vehicles of tomorrow are safe and secure.