ADI's wBMS earns top automotive cybersecurity certification

Analog Devices, Inc. announced that its Wireless Battery Management System (wBMS) is certified to the highest standard of automotive cybersecurity engineering and management. ISO/SAE 21434 is the new standard for cybersecurity risk-management throughout the lifecycle of the vehicle — from concept, product development and production, to operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of electrical and electronic systems.

TÜV NORD Mobilität, the assessor for this qualification, affirmed that ADI’s wBMS is the first automotive system that it has certified for ISO/SAE 21434. The assessment confirmed that ADI performed appropriate assurance measures within the product development to fulfill the CAL 4 requirements.

Since announcing the industry’s first wBMS with General Motors in 2020, ADI has brought this technology to mass production as a turnkey solution for vehicle manufacturers with security designed in at every level.

The transition of battery packs from wired to wireless connectivity enables automotive manufacturers to scale their electric vehicle fleets into volume production across a wide range of vehicle classes, and wBMS provides the modularity, flexibility, and scalability to streamline the design and assembly processes with connector-free batteries.

With this reliance on wireless communication, ensuring transparency, security, and ease of deployment for the system are critical.

“We conducted an intensive assessment to verify that ADI’s wBMS conforms to ISO/SAE 21434 requirements. With ADI considering the CAL 4 classification conditions throughout product development, the cybersecurity assurance measures complied with the highest requirements,” said Leif-Erik Schulte, senior VP at TÜV NORD Mobilität. “This system certification is a key element to build trust across the full electrification ecosystem – from energy storage to OEMs to consumers — to support EV adoption and help reduce emissions.”

According to a recent McKinsey report: “Cybersecurity is becoming a new dimension of quality for automobiles…cybersecurity will be nonnegotiable for securing market access and type approval” in the future.

The CAL 4 classification, according to the ISO/SAE 21434 standard, requires strong risk assessments to proactively identify any component, application programming interface (API), or software function that could be vulnerable to a cyber-attack.

“Personal vehicles are a major contributor to global warming and accelerated EV adoption plays a critical role in achieving a sustainable future,” said Roger Keen, GM of Battery Management Systems at Analog Devices. “Improving the security and accuracy of EV batteries removes roadblocks in end-users’ buying considerations and advances OEMs’ decisions to expand their EV offerings. With this certification, ADI can provide ongoing transparency and seamless deployment within the EV battery supply chain to progress our vision of a greener world.”