Homomorphic Encryption for Secure GNSS Signal Processing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) face vulnerabilities to jamming and spoofing, particularly for military services, due to the need for secure spreading codes, which complicates their use by civilian organizations that cannot manage the security restrictions and costs associated with military-grade receivers.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method and system that uses homomorphic encryption to process GNSS signals, allowing remote servers to perform position calculations without revealing the receiver's position or the secret spreading codes, thereby maintaining secrecy and reducing the security burden on client receivers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If military GNSS services use secret spreading codes to protect against jamming and spoofing, then reliability and security are improved, but device complexity and security management burden increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the secret spreading code from the receiver and relocates it to a remote server. The receiver no longer needs to store or manage secret codes locally, instead receiving encrypted correlation results from the server. This removes the security management burden from the receiver while maintaining the security benefits of secret codes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a remote server as an intermediary between the GNSS signal and the receiver. The server performs correlation operations using secret spreading codes and returns encrypted results to the receiver. This intermediary handles the security-sensitive operations remotely, reducing the security complexity at the receiver end.
2Measurement precision
If receivers store and process secret spreading codes locally, then position determination accuracy is maintained, but the receiver becomes a single point of failure and security risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the secret spreading code from the receiver and stores it only on the remote server. The receiver processes only public data and receives encrypted correlation results. This eliminates the receiver as a security risk point while maintaining position determination accuracy through the server's processing capabilities.
3Reliability
If civilian organizations use military GNSS services with secret spreading codes, then reliability and anti-jamming capability are improved, but the cost and security restrictions become prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables civilian receivers to access military-grade GNSS services through a self-service architecture. The receiver independently communicates with the remote server, receives encrypted correlation results, and determines its own position without requiring specialized security clearances or manual security management. The server handles all security-sensitive operations automatically.
4Reliability
If spreading codes are changed rapidly to enhance security, then protection against third-party interference is improved, but the complexity of code management and synchronization increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the spreading code management function from the receiver and consolidates it on the remote server. The server manages rapid code changes and generates updated correlation results, which are then transmitted to receivers. This allows frequent code changes to enhance security while the server handles all the complexity of code management and synchronization.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method are described for processing a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal, the GNSS comprising multiple satellites, wherein each satellite transmits a respective navigation signal containing a spreading code. The method comprises receiving an incoming signal at a receiver, wherein the incoming signal may contain navigation signals from one or more satellites; encrypting the incoming signal at the receiver using a homomorphic encryption scheme to form an encrypted signal; and transmitting the encrypted signal from the receiver to a remote server.