C-ITS secure communications gap analysis and roadmap

This project will identify the main gaps and priority actions required to support harmonised secure communications for Day 1 Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) deployment in Australia. It will focus specifically on the secure exchange of C-ITS messages and data, including the technical, operational and institutional factors required for trusted and scalable deployment.

Drawing on Australian initiatives and selected international deployment experience, the project will assess the current state of secure communications readiness, identify the principal barriers to implementation and harmonisation, and produce a practical roadmap to guide next steps.

The roadmap will identify priority gaps, responsible stakeholders, dependencies, indicative timing, trust, and areas where further coordination or capability development is required.

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Participants

• iMOVE Australia
• Queensland University of Technology

Project background

The deployment of C-ITS introduces new cybersecurity challenges associated with the trusted exchange of messages and data between vehicles, roadside infrastructure, and traffic management systems. Secure communications is a foundational requirement for effective C-ITS deployment, as it underpins trust in message authenticity, integrity, interoperability and system resilience.

Over the past decade, C-ITS technologies have progressed through trials, standards development, and early operational deployment in several jurisdictions. This has generated both implementation experience and a growing body of literature on cybersecurity and communications security issues in C-ITS. International initiatives provide valuable lessons, but they also highlight unresolved issues and the need to adapt approaches to national institutional, regulatory, and operational contexts.

In Australia, there is an opportunity to take a focused and practical view of secure communications readiness for Day 1 C-ITS deployment, identify the major gaps affecting harmonisation and implementation, and define a realistic path forward. This project is designed to provide that focused assessment.

The project does not intend to develop new security technology or to implement any platform; rather, it will provide an evidence-based and practice-oriented assessment to support coordinated decision-making, future investments, and targeted capability development.

Project objectives

The project aims to support secure Day 1 C-ITS deployment in Australia by focusing specifically on secure communications. The objectives are to:

1. Identify the key technical, operational, and institutional gaps affecting secure communications for Day 1 C­ITS deployment in Australia;
2. Review relevant Australian activities and selected international approaches to secure C-ITS communications, with a view to identifying lessons applicable to the Australian context; and
3. Develop a prioritised roadmap that identifies actions, responsible stakeholders, dependencies, and indicative timing required to advance harmonised secure communications for C-ITS in Australia.

Please note …

This page will be a living record of this project. As it matures, hits milestones, etc., we’ll continue to add information, links, images, interviews and more. Watch this space!