What exactly is SGW? Security Gateway (SGW) is a module designed to protect vehicle electronics against hacker attacks. In simple words, the SGW gateway "filters" connected diagnostic devices and grants access only to those that are authorized to do so. The lack of SGW authorizations (granted by the vehicle manufacturer) limits the diagnostic possibilities to the engine electronics and exhaust gas treatment system. In such cases, you can only read the errors and often you will not be able to delete them.
While the topic has been known for several years in the diagnostics of passenger cars, it is relatively new in the case of trucks. Tester manufacturers deal with this challenge in different ways. Some reach an agreement with the vehicle brand at the central level and include diagnostics of specific vehicles as part of their license, others act as an intermediary between the consumer and the car manufacturer in purchasing temporary access for a specific tester , still others provide instructions on where to connect the diagnostics to bypass the SGW gate and be able to use the full range of diagnostic possibilities.
For now, IVECO has followed this path in truck models after 2019, e.g. S-way, or the FCA group with its delivery vehicles. What will it be like for others? It's hard to predict. On the one hand, cybersecurity is becoming a key issue for the industry that strives to popularize autonomous cars, on the other hand, under the guise of security, certain significant restrictions are being introduced in access to diagnostics for independent workshops.
Time will tell how the situation with SGW in the truck industry will develop. It is possible that vehicle manufacturers will develop common standards, facilitating access to diagnostics for independent workshops. Regardless of what the future will look like, truck workshops will have to adapt to new realities and invest in solutions enabling the diagnostics of vehicles with SGW.
