Argus Cyber Security Solution Suites
Web • Responsive • Dashboards
Project Goal
Argus is one of global leaders in automotive cyber security, the company provides comprehensive and proven solution suites to protect connected cars and commercial vehicles against cyber-attacks.
With decades of experience in both cyber security and the automotive industry, Argus offers innovative security methods and proven computer networking know-how with a deep understanding of automotive best practices. Customers include car manufacturers, their Tier 1 suppliers, fleet operators and aftermarket connectivity providers.
The company provides both onboard and off-board protection, which means the design process was divided in two:
(1) Off-board monitoring of vehicle fleets for vulnerabilities, identifies points of risk, and providing an immediate plan for mitigation. Vehicle manufacturers use the tool to understand what software packages are affected, on which ECUs, and in which vehicles.
(2) Onboard ECU protection, that detects and mitigates attacks targeting all types of electronic control units (ECUs) from telematics, infotainment and ADAS units running on high-end operating systems (Linux, QNX, Android, Adaptive AUTOSAR).
(3) Onboard In-Vehicle Network Protection monitors and analyzes network communications to detect and prevent attacks, suspicious activity and changes in standard in-vehicle network behavior - acting as a sensor.
In a nut shell, the main goal of the project was to create an interactive interface that will cover, display and monitor these three simultaneously, in real time.
User Segmentation
A mix of technographic segment (preferred technologies, software, and mobile devices, and geographic (based on country, state, or city of residence), since the focal point of the entire thing is to monitor the threats and to locate these in real time on a map. The geography was a great key here.
Next to these two, we had to exam the behavioral segmentation – based on actions or inactions, spending/consumption habits, feature use, session frequency, browsing history, average order value, etc of the users.
We also had to study the psychographic part in the deal, based on personal attitudes, values, interests, or personality traits.
Another aspect was the basic customer actions - the way our users act. They way they will use a complex, busy dashboard and learn to route what it has to offer for the benefit of their needs
My Contribution
Given the fact that it was a startup in its infancy, which I entered as the only UX / UI designer, my job was first and foremost to study the system and understand in general how things work, what the main pain points are and who we are actually building the system for.
I wanted to understand the profile of the end users - other than the major automakers - and what we can offer them to ensure their personal safety and the safety of their vehicle in real time.
The list of my tasks included:
• doing Research of the users and the auto manufactures
• running a Competitive Analysis
• defining the basic strategy and building Customer Journey Map - Who, What & Why
• putting together with the Product Manager a crazy detailed User Flow
• designing the prototype (since we had no previous references to lean on)
• adding a Brand library of assets and components
Main Challenges
As I mentioned - the company has started as a small startup, which I entered as the only UX/UI person. Sort of an unmapped journey, in a tech field I know nothing about.
I do love cars, but high level of automotive cyber security was a huge challenge for me.
It took me a while to understand the core concepts and the language spoken by car manufacturers and people from security backgrounds.
From the design point of view, as expected the main challenge was to build a very comprehensive system that would provide a horizontal response to a multitude of needs, different functionaries with varying levels of security classification. The amount of data was huge and the need to break it down into something accessible and clear was above all.
Another thing I can point out was the basic need to clarify and stand firm in the face of the idea that such a system needs an actual design, and no brilliant code behind the scenes wont hold it firm. It is a product that has a visual interface and we can not fall in its visibility to the outside.
Final UI
