TL;DR
Three days. Dozens of sessions. Endless coffee. One clear message: AI, cybersecurity, and organisational transformation are redefining in the future of mobility, and Automotive IQ managed to get the right people in the room to actually talk about it.
Day 1: AI stole the spotlight, boosting efficiency while quietly sharpening the attacker’s toolbox.
Day 2: From AI threats and Lion Cage demos to standards, MBSE, and digital keys, the industry showed it can innovate and panic at the same time.
Day 3: Less hype, more survival. Lifecycle security, TARA reality checks, supply chain chaos, PQC, and the uncomfortable realization that SOP is just the beginning.
Big takeaway: The SDV race won’t be decided by the flashiest demo, but by collaboration, harmonization, and using AI with a bit of wisdom and a lot of discipline.
Introduction
Automotive IQ has built a reputation as a place where the automotive industry doesn’t just present slides, but actually debates them. Its conferences consistently bring together OEMs, Tier 1s, suppliers, regulators, and security practitioners who are deep in the trenches of cyber security, connectivity, and software-defined vehicles.
The Cyber Security, Connectivity and SDV Week 2025 in Berlin once again delivered on that promise. Over three packed days, the agenda moved from AI-driven optimism to the hard realities of securing vehicles that need to stay safe, connected, and compliant for decades.
I had the pleasure of attending this year’s event, and what follows is my personal take: highlights, moments that sparked debate, and a few reality checks that stuck with me long after the sessions ended.
Day 1 – AI Everywhere (Including Where You’re Not Looking)
The Focus Day focused hard. And the topic was, unsurprisingly, AI.
As my flight was a late morning one, I missed the first part of the day, but arrived just in time to catch the tail end of FORVIA’s session on AI-powered static code analysis. Smart tooling, faster feedback loops, fewer human hours lost to manual checks. A promising start and a good reminder that AI is already quietly embedded in our workflows.
Momentum picked up with Cosimo Senni Guidotti Magnani (Stellantis), who presented a proof of concept for AI-generated penetration testing Statements of Work. If the numbers hold, this could cut time and cost by more than 90%. That’s not incremental improvement. That’s the kind of slide that makes procurement suddenly very interested.
After lunch, Zeeshan Naeem played the role of friendly spoiler. AI, he reminded us, is not just helping defenders. It’s also lowering the bar for attackers. Without security by design, AI doesn’t just accelerate development, it accelerates mistakes. The ensuing discussion on why security still gets sidelined in planning and budgeting felt a little too familiar for comfort.
The day wrapped up with a live car hacking demo from CyberLifeHacks. The attempted hardware attack on a keyless system didn’t succeed. The Mercedes SUV stayed unimpressed. Score one for the car. But accompanying footage of successful attacks on other brands quickly brought the mood back down to earth.
Day 1 takeaway: AI is a powerful accelerator. Whether it accelerates innovation or incidents depends entirely on how seriously we take security.
Day 2 – From Acceleration to Accountability
Day 2 opened with a strong panel lineup and an even stronger sense that the industry is wrestling with its own complexity.
AI was still the star, but now the conversation was more mature. Yes, AI can speed up development, testing, and analysis. No, it should not turn engineers into passive reviewers of machine-generated output. Several speakers emphasized the same point in different words: use AI to remove boring work, not responsibility.
Fragmentation emerged as a recurring villain. Different architectures, different regulatory interpretations, different supplier expectations. Harmonization across OEMs and Tier 1s isn’t just efficient, it’s becoming essential, especially when vehicles are expected to remain secure for 15, 20, or even 30 years.
The afternoon sessions raised the stakes. AI-powered attacks, LLM-specific vulnerabilities, and real-world incidents made it clear that attackers are evolving just as fast as defenders. The OWASP Top 10 for LLM applications was both familiar and unsettling. Invisible prompts alone were enough to make people sit up straighter.
The Lion Cage Project certainly helped with that too. A bold concept, plenty of debate, and a good example of how Automotive IQ sessions don’t shy away from controversial ideas. Add in real-world stories about regulatory pressure and suddenly the message was clear: collaboration is no longer optional, it’s operationally critical.
Later sessions brought structure back into the conversation. Standards, MBSE, and training showed how cybersecurity can move left and scale sensibly. I also had the chance to lead an interactive session on GB 44495, proving that even cybersecurity standards can be engaging… and occasionally musical.
The day closed with discussions on Digital Keys, SDV economics, and platform evolution. Interoperability is improving thanks to initiatives like the CCC Digital Key standard, but monetization remains nuanced. Customers pay for value and trust, not for the word “software.”
By dinner, the room felt energized but thoughtful. The excitement was still there, but so was a growing sense of responsibility.
Day 3 – Less Hype, More “How Do We Make This Work?”
Day 3 felt like the conference collectively decided to stop pretending SOP is the finish line.
The opening panel focused on future-proofing cybersecurity programs, and the message was refreshingly consistent. Vehicles must be designed to survive decades of updates, vulnerabilities, and backend changes. Real security operations begin after production, when systems meet the real world and attackers have time to study them.
Fragmentation came up again, this time with sharper edges. Without shared language and aligned incident response processes across suppliers, every cyber incident turns into a coordination problem under pressure. Several speakers openly acknowledged what many were thinking: a major automotive cyber incident feels inevitable. Preparation will matter more than denial.
The TARA session that followed was one of the most practical of the week. By focusing on attacker capability, motivation, and concrete attack methods, the approach made risk prioritization feel less like guesswork and more like engineering. Less checkbox, more clarity.
Supply chain discussions brought another reality check. Software complexity is exploding, budgets are not, and visibility is still lacking. SBOM maturity is no longer a regulatory checkbox, it’s basic hygiene. If you don’t know what’s in your software, you’re not managing risk, you’re hoping.
Late morning delivered an honest SDV status update. AI-defined mobility is advancing quickly, but hardware constraints, organizational silos, and shifting market dynamics are slowing the journey. You can OTA software, but you still can’t OTA a sensor. That line earned a few knowing nods.
Regulatory clarity around the Cyber Resilience Act helped cut through the noise. Deadlines are real, expectations are clear, and early preparation beats late panic.
The afternoon sessions went deep into cryptography, PQC, and penetration testing. Crypto decisions made late become expensive. PQC migration is feasible, but sequencing matters. Replace the wrong dependency first and you may achieve very little security for a lot of effort.
The final roundtable on pen testing felt like a group therapy session, in a good way. Demand is exploding, shift-left testing is unavoidable, and external pen tests only add value if internal processes are already strong. Passing a test should never be the goal. Learning from it should be.
Day 3 takeaway: The SDV era will reward teams that plan for longevity, not just launch day success.
Final Thoughts
Automotive IQ Cybersecurity, Connectivity and SDV Week 2025 once again proved why it’s a valuable forum for the industry. It brought together the right mix of optimism and realism, innovation and accountability, technical depth and open discussion.
AI is reshaping how we build vehicles. SDVs are redefining what vehicles even are. Cybersecurity is the thread holding it all together.
The real challenge now is execution at scale, across organizations, suppliers, and decades-long lifecycles.
And if there’s one thing this event showed clearly, it’s that the industry is finally having the right conversations.
About the Author
The author attended Automotive IQ Cybersecurity, Connectivity and SDV Week 2025 as an industry practitioner actively working at the intersection of automotive cybersecurity, software-defined vehicles, and regulatory frameworks. With hands-on experience across standards, threat analysis, and secure vehicle architectures, the author values practical discussions over slideware and appreciates forums like Automotive IQ that bring together real engineers, decision-makers, and problem-solvers to openly exchange ideas.
This article reflects personal observations and takeaways from the event.