Forensic Analysis of Automotive Controller Area Network Emissions for Problem Resolution

Electromagnetic emissions associated with the transmission of automotive controller area network (CAN) messages within a passenger car have been analysed and used to reconstruct the original CAN messages. Concurrent monitoring of the CAN traffic via a wired connection to the vehicle OBD-II port was used to validate the effectiveness of the reconstruction process. These results confirm the feasibility of reconstructing in-vehicle network data for forensic purposes, without the need for wired access, at distances of up to 1 m from the vehicle by using magnetic field measurements, and up to 3 m using electric field measurements. This capability has applications in the identification and resolution of EMI issues in vehicle data network, as well as possible implications for automotive cybersecurity.