Distributed Trusted Recorder for Road Toll Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current road toll systems face challenges in securely monitoring and verifying itinerary records due to the complexity and cost of building OBUs with integrated trusted recorders, which can be compromised by tampering or fraudulent attacks.
Innovation Solution
A method where an onboard-unit (OBU) and a proxy server cooperate to implement a distributed trusted recorder functionality, using digital signatures to securely create and verify itinerary records, allowing conventional mobile phones to support secure monitoring and enabling easy retrofitting of existing systems with a proxy server and trusted element.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If OBUs are equipped with integrated trusted recorders for secure monitoring, then security and reliability of itinerary records are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The trusted recorder functionality is extracted from the OBU and relocated to a remote server. The OBU no longer needs to contain the trusted element,而是 communicates itinerary records to the server which performs the trusted recording function remotely. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining security (through the server-side trusted element) while reducing OBU complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
A communication interface (mobile network connection) is introduced as an intermediary between the OBU and the trusted recorder server. This allows the OBU to leverage remote trusted recording capabilities without having the complex trusted element built-in, thus improving security while keeping the OBU simple.
2Reliability
If OBUs are equipped with integrated trusted recorders for secure monitoring, then security and reliability of itinerary records are improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The expensive trusted element is extracted from the OBU and placed on the server side. This allows mass-produced, inexpensive OBUs to access trusted recording services through network communication, dramatically reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining security through the server-side trusted element.
Solution Approach 2:
The server-side trusted recorder serves multiple OBUs simultaneously through the network, making the expensive trusted element a shared resource. This amortizes the cost across many OBUs, making the system economically viable while maintaining security.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional mobile phones are used as OBUs without built-in trusted recorders, then ease of manufacture and cost are improved, but security and reliability of trusted recording deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile network connection acts as an intermediary that enables conventional mobile phones to access trusted recording services remotely. The phone's standard communication capabilities are leveraged to connect to the server-side trusted element, providing security without requiring specialized hardware in the phone.
Solution Approach 2:
The trusted recording functionality is copied to the server environment where it can be implemented in software rather than requiring specialized hardware in each OBU. This allows conventional mobile phones to access the same security level as dedicated OBUs with built-in trusted elements.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for trusted recording in a road toll system, the road toll system (1) having a proxy server (10) connected via a mobile network (5) to an onboard-unit (4) of a vehicle (3), the onboard-unit (4) having a position determination device (14), comprising: creating an itinerary record (RCi) comprising a first or second position (pf,i, pl,i), a first or second point of time (tf,i, tl,i) at least one of: a distance (di) calculated using at least the first and second position (pf,i, pl,i), a segment-id (sid), and a distance (di) calculated using said segment-id (sid); receiving and recording a signed itinerary record (sgn(RCi), sgn(RCi, id)) from the proxy server (10) . In a further aspect of the invention an onboard-unit and a proxy server are provided for trusted recording in a road toll system.