BlackBerry has launched the QNX Hypervisor 2.0. This real-time Type 1 Hypervisor based on QNX SDP 7.0, is BlackBerry’s most advanced and secure 64-bit embedded operating system, says the company. It enables developers to partition and isolate safety-critical environments from non-safety critical environments, ensuring that no critical systems are put at risk.

BlackBerry’s QNX Hypervisor 2.0 creates virtual software containers, such that any hiccup or breach in a single car functional domain can be isolated and does not impact or create vulnerabilities. One example is the virtual cockpit, which uses a single System on a Chip (SoC) to run both an infotainment system and the car’s digital instrument cluster, which comprises the speedometer, odometer and gas tank indicator. The digital instrument cluster interfaces with critical driving systems, and thus needs to be both safety certified and architected in such a way that security is ironclad. With QNX Hypervisor 2.0, each of these two systems is isolated and kept safe, so that if the infotainment system were to crash, it would not take the safety-critical systems down with it.

“There is no safety without security,” said John Wall, senior vice president and head of BlackBerry QNX. “If hackers can access a car through a non-critical ECU system, they can tamper or take over safety-critical areas, such as the steering system, brakes or engine. BlackBerry’s QNX Hypervisor 2.0 safeguards against these types of attacks and is a key component of our multi-level approach to securing connected and autonomous vehicles.”

Qualcomm has adopted QNX Hypervisor 2.0 as part of certain digital cockpit solutions, says BlackBerry. Support for QNX Hypervisor 2.0 on the Snapdragon 820Am automotive platform is currently available.

BlackBerry’s QNX Hypervisor 2.0 complies with IEC 61508 SIL 3 for industrial safety, IEC 62304 for medical device software, and ISO 26262 ASIL D for automotive safety.

[Image courtesy: BlackBerry]