Ahmad MK Nasser

Dr. Ahmad MK Nasser is a seasoned expert in automotive cybersecurity with over two decades of experience in embedded software and hardware architectures. Starting as a Software Engineer at Vector CANtech in 2002 he honed his skills in CAN drivers, diagnostics protocols, and flash bootloaders across various microcontrollers. In that role, Ahmad interacted with numerous customers and consulted with them on trouble shooting complex software bugs. Ahmad subsequently joined Robert Bosch as a Technical Lead, focusing on automotive networking software, diagnostics, and HSM firmware in active safety systems. At Bosch, he was among the first engineers to implement cybersecurity requirements into a safety critical system (ABS/ESP) for major automotive manufacturers. Through the integration of the HSM firmware and enablement of secure onboard communication and secure diagnostics, Ahmad got first hand experience about the challenges faced when enabling security in resource constrained systems. He also saw first hand the impact of security on legacy systems during both development and manufacturing. Around this time, Ahmad started his Ph.D. in the topic of securing safety critical systems at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He later transitioned to Renesas, where he again helped numerous customers enable hardware security features using the Renesas microcontrollers and SoCs. He later became the team leader for the HSM firmware development team where he built a portable HSM solution that worked on both MCU and SoC solutions while following a secure software development lifecycle. During his tenure at Renesas, he was an active member of several standardization committees, contributing to key security standards such as SAE J3101, Uptane, and CAN XL-sec. Also, while at Renesas, Ahmad completed his Ph.D. with numerous publications around the topic of safety and security overlap as well as the security of resource constrained embedded systems.

Currently serving as a Principal Security Architect and Team Leader at NVIDIA, Ahmad oversees security operations for DRIVE OS, a multifaceted software stack that powers autonomous driving applications. He consults with numerous teams on developing the secure software solution in compliance with ISO/SAE 21434. His latest work is focused on leveraging Generative AI to improve the efficiency of security analysis and cybersecurity work product generation while working within the confines of a cybersecurity management system. Throughout his career, Ahmad has conducted threat and risk analysis of numerous vehicle architectures, ECUs, and smart sensors giving him first hand experience about the challenges and opportunities of building secure vehicle platforms.