DIAS · Project

Anti-Tampering Technology That Detects and Prevents Illegal Vehicle Emission Cheating

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You know how some truck and car owners secretly disable their exhaust cleaning systems to save on fuel or avoid repairs? It's like ripping the catalytic converter off your car — illegal, but hard to catch. DIAS built a smart security system that sits inside the vehicle's computer and connects to the cloud, catching tampering attempts in real time. Think of it as a burglar alarm for your vehicle's emission controls — if someone tries to hack or bypass them, the system knows immediately and can fight back.

By the numbers

consortium partners involved in development

countries represented in the consortium

industry partners in the consortium

42%

industry participation ratio

total project deliverables produced

The business problem

What needed solving

Vehicle owners and operators routinely tamper with emission control systems to cut fuel costs, avoid urea expenses, or skip expensive repairs — and traditional On-Board Diagnostics cannot prevent or even reliably detect this. This illegal manipulation undermines emissions standards across Europe, exposes fleet operators to regulatory fines, and costs vehicle manufacturers their reputation when their clean-engine claims are contradicted by real-world pollution levels.

The solution

What was built

DIAS built a complete anti-tampering system consisting of a secured Engine Control Unit (ECU), a Cloud Connectivity Unit (CCU), and a cloud-based monitoring platform — all integrated and demonstrated in a working vehicle. The system detects hardware and software manipulation of emission controls, activates countermeasures like driver inducement systems, and can push updates to vehicles already in the field.

Audience

Who needs this

Heavy-duty truck and bus manufacturers looking to tamper-proof emission systemsLarge commercial fleet operators facing regulatory risk from emission cheatingVehicle inspection and testing organizations (TÜV, DEKRA, MOT providers)Environmental enforcement agencies and transport regulatorsAutomotive ECU and aftertreatment system suppliers (tier-1 and tier-2)

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Commercial road transport & fleet management

enterprise

Target: Fleet operators running heavy-duty trucks across Europe

If you are a fleet operator dealing with drivers or third-party workshops disabling emission controls on your trucks to cut fuel or urea costs — this project developed a cloud-connected anti-tampering system integrated into the vehicle ECU that detects and prevents such manipulation. The system was demonstrated in a prototype vehicle with 12 consortium partners across 7 countries, meaning it was designed for cross-border European operations from the start.

Automotive OEM & tier-1 suppliers

enterprise

Target: Vehicle manufacturers and emission system component suppliers

If you are a vehicle manufacturer struggling to protect your On-Board Diagnostics and emission control hardware from aftermarket tampering devices — DIAS developed secured ECU and CCU components with enhanced algorithms and anomaly detection that go beyond traditional OBD capabilities. The system was prototyped and proven working in a demo vehicle, offering a path to integrate tamper-proof technology directly into your production line.

Vehicle inspection & regulatory compliance

any

Target: Technical inspection organizations and environmental enforcement agencies

If you are a vehicle inspection body or environmental regulator unable to detect sophisticated emission system tampering during periodic checks — DIAS created a cloud-based diagnostic platform that logs tampering attempts and provides remote evidence. With 5 industry partners involved in development, the system was built to meet real-world enforcement needs and can flag vehicles that have been manipulated even between scheduled inspections.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to integrate this anti-tampering technology into our vehicles or fleet?

The project data does not include specific pricing or per-unit cost figures. As a Research and Innovation Action with a demonstrated prototype, licensing or integration costs would need to be negotiated directly with the consortium partners who developed the ECU, CCU, and cloud components.

Can this scale to thousands of vehicles across multiple countries?

The system was explicitly designed for cross-border European operation, with the consortium spanning 7 countries. The cloud-based architecture means remote monitoring can scale across fleets. However, the current stage is a demonstrated prototype in a single demo vehicle, so production-scale deployment would require further engineering.

Who owns the intellectual property and can we license it?

The IP is held by the 12-partner consortium, which includes 5 industry partners and 4 research organizations. Licensing arrangements would need to be discussed with the coordinator, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, or directly with the industrial partners who developed specific components.

Does this help us comply with upcoming EU emission regulations?

Yes — the project directly addresses illegal manipulation of vehicle Environmental Protection Systems, which is a growing regulatory concern in the EU. DIAS was designed so that anti-tampering countermeasures can also be applied to vehicles already in the field, not just new production models.

How does this connect to our existing OBD systems?

DIAS starts with existing On-Board Diagnostics as its foundation and adds two layers: first, immediate on-vehicle protection measures in the ECU, and second, a cloud-based system for detecting currently unknown future tampering methods. It is designed as an upgrade path, not a replacement of existing OBD infrastructure.

What was actually demonstrated and how mature is the technology?

The consortium built and demonstrated a prototypic ECU, CCU, and cloud-based system fully integrated in a demo vehicle, proving it works as intended. All products from the project's work packages were integrated into this demonstration system. This puts it past lab-stage but before commercial production.

Consortium

Who built it

The DIAS consortium brings together 12 partners from 7 countries (Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Romania, Turkey), with a healthy 42% industry ratio — 5 industry players alongside 3 universities and 4 research organizations. This mix signals serious commercial intent: the industry partners likely contributed real-world vehicle systems and testing facilities, while the research side handled the security algorithms and cloud architecture. The geographic spread across major European automotive markets (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium) plus cost-effective R&D locations (Greece, Romania, Turkey) suggests the technology was designed with pan-European deployment in mind. No SMEs are listed, indicating the industrial partners are established companies with the capacity to bring results to market.

ARISTOTELIO PANEPISTIMIO THESSALONIKISCoordinator · EL
ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXISparticipant · EL
ROBERT BOSCH GMBHparticipant · DE
NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNOparticipant · NL
VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSELparticipant · BE
ICCT - INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION EUROPE GEMEINNUTZIGE GMBHparticipant · DE
FEV IO GMBHthirdparty · DE
UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA, FARMACIE, STIINTE SI TEHNOLOGIE "GEORGE EMIL PALADE" DIN TARGU MURESparticipant · RO
FORD OTOMOTIV SANAYI ANONIM SIRKETIparticipant · TR
FEV EUROPE GMBHparticipant · DE
JRC -JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE- EUROPEAN COMMISSIONparticipant · BE

How to reach the team

Coordinator is Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction to the right contact within the consortium.

Order a report on this consortium See ARISTOTELIO PANEPISTIMIO THESSALONIKIS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how DIAS anti-tampering technology could protect your fleet or product line? Contact SciTransfer for a detailed briefing and introduction to the consortium.

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