Local Ledger Blockchain for Secure ECU Update Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Memory devices are vulnerable to data threats such as faults and hacking, which can lead to significant financial loss and safety issues, particularly in secure electronic control unit updates.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a local ledger block chain using memory as a storage component to validate and authenticate electronic control unit updates, ensuring the data is genuine and has not been altered by unauthorized changes, without requiring additional components or circuitry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional memory storage is used for electronic control unit updates, then storage capacity is sufficient, but security and data integrity are compromised due to vulnerabilities to faults and hacking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the blockchain into individual blocks, where each block contains specific update data and cryptographic hashes. This segmentation allows the memory to store blockchain data in a structured manner that enables security validation without requiring the entire blockchain structure, thus improving security while managing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces blockchain technology as an intermediary layer between the memory storage and the electronic control unit updates. This intermediary provides cryptographic verification mechanisms that enhance security without requiring fundamental changes to the memory hardware itself.
2Reliability
If blockchain technology is implemented for secure update validation, then data integrity and authenticity are improved, but storage efficiency and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential cryptographic elements (hashes and validation data) from the complete blockchain structure and stores them in memory. This extraction approach maintains data integrity verification capabilities while significantly reducing the storage requirements compared to storing the entire blockchain.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a partial blockchain approach where only relevant blocks containing update data and their cryptographic hashes are stored in memory, rather than the complete blockchain history. This partial implementation provides sufficient security and integrity validation while optimizing storage efficiency.
3Reliability
If cryptographic validation is performed on each update, then security is enhanced, but processing time and computational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary cryptographic validation by storing pre-computed hashes and validation data in the blockchain blocks within memory. When an update occurs, the system only needs to verify against these pre-stored cryptographic elements rather than performing complex validation from scratch, thus enhancing authentication while reducing validation time.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure includes apparatuses, methods, and systems for using a local ledger block chain for secure electronic control unit updates. An embodiment includes a memory, and circuitry configured to receive a global block to be added to a local ledger block chain for validating an electronic control unit update for electronic control unit data stored in the memory, where the global block to be added to the local ledger block chain includes a cryptographic hash of a current local block in the local ledger block chain, a cryptographic hash of the electronic control unit data stored in the memory to be updated, where the current local block in the local ledger block chain has a digital signature associated therewith that indicates the global block is from an authorized entity.