Join Reinhard Kugler at the Linux Plumbers Conference in Prague from October 5-7, 2026, where he will present his talk eBPF on Wheels – Automotive and Industrial Use Cases.
Fotocredit: Niklas Schnaubelt
Abstract
The industry increasingly adopts Linux for automotive and industrial use cases, since companies like Red Hat or Canonical engaged in development of Linux platforms in safety-critical domains. Using container technologies or just a bootable images on restricted silicon, now software operates cyber-physical processes. Those platforms are often cloud-connected because of maintainability, attracting new threat actors to that domain. Defenses in this area are limited, because of blind spots in endpoint protection solutions regarding electronics.
The missing integrations can be found in non-IP bus systems, such as the CAN bus as well as on-board interfaces to flash chips, FPGA or the protocols themselves like SPI or I2C. While less common in the IT world those missing capabilities are missing out in comprehensive observability resulting in unnoticed cyber attacks against IOT platforms.
This talk showcases the use of eBPF for protocols like CAN, DMA and SPI to create observability as well as defenses against cyber attacks in automotive or industrial contexts, such as secure updates, injection attacks and non-IP filters.
About the Speaker
Reinhard’s focus relies on security testing of IT and industrial cyber-physical systems. Based on his prior experience in cyber defense, he works with companies to develop security capabilities and secure products. Reinhard is an experienced instructor and develops tailored security trainings. His mission is to apply research methods (combinatorial security testing) to industrial applications, like automotive, embedded or cloud.
About the Conference
The Linux Plumbers Conference (LPC) is an international technical forum dedicated to advancing the development and collaboration of the Linux operating system’s core infrastructure. It provides a platform for researchers, developers, maintainers, and industry practitioners to exchange knowledge, discuss emerging challenges, and coordinate efforts across key areas of Linux development, including the kernel, system libraries, tooling, and other foundational components. Through technical presentations, expert discussions, and collaborative working sessions, LPC contributes to the continuous evolution, reliability, and scalability of open source software ecosystems.