Hon Hai suggests establishment of electric car cyber security alliance

Taipei, March 3 (CNA) Liu Young-way (劉揚偉), chairman of Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., on Wednesday suggested the establishment of an national electric car cyber security alliance to deal with the fast arriving electric car era.

Speaking at the NExT Forum: Cyber Security Challenges in E-Vehicle, jointly organized by the Hon Hai Research Institute and the Chinese Cryptology and Information Security Association, Liu suggested Taiwan's business sector, academia and the government should establish a cyber security alliance to facilitate the development of electric cars.

Internet technology has boosted industrial development by speeding up the pace of information and experience sharing, Liu said.

In addition, cloud technology has also made artificial intelligence widely available, while 5G applications connect as many things as possible, he added.

With the electric car era approaching, Liu said, these emerging technologies present the new industry with many challenges and cyber security could become a critical field over the next 10-20 years. The Hon Hai Research Institute aims to serve as a channel that allows the business sector, academia and government to communicate and pursue policies that will enable the country to become a leader in electric car industry cyber security, Liu said.

The Hon Hai Research Institute was inaugurated in January to allow the company to focus on new technology development, including electric cars.

The institute has five main areas of research, namely AI, semiconductors, new generation communications, cyber security and Quantum computing. It also develops "3 plus 3" applications for robots, medicare, electric vehicles, AI, semiconductors and 5G.

Through such efforts, Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn on the global market, aims to transform itself from a pure contract manufacturer into a company that can combine its strengths in hardware and software.

Echoing Liu, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology Professor Wu Tsung-cheng (吳宗成), said cyber security and privacy will be two indispensable factors in electric car development.

The presence of such an alliance is expected to help build a safe and reliable environment for electric car users, Wu said.

Meanwhile, as of the end of February, more than 800 companies had joined the MIH Open Platform, which is open to outside investors interested in electric car development, Hon Hai Chief Technology Officer William Wei (魏國章) said.

The MIH Open Platform was initiated by Yulon Group subsidiary Hua-Chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co. Hon Hai formed a joint venture with Hua-Chang in February 2020 called Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co. to strengthen the platform, which provides hardware and software to other automakers.

Hon Hai has said it hopes to build the platform into the "Android of the electric car industry" as part of its efforts to enter the global electric vehicle market.

The company has also said the platform expects to debut three new models in the fourth quarter of this year.