Meter Data Management Using Time-Based Private Key Encryption
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Solution Overview
Problem
In IoT and smart grid environments, existing security methods for remote metering services face challenges in ensuring end-to-end security, protecting sensitive data from leakage, and managing private keys efficiently, particularly in scenarios where hardware security chips are costly and difficult to implement.
Innovation Solution
A method for managing meter data that involves creating and using private keys dynamically, allowing devices in the lowest layer to encrypt data before transmission to the highest layer, without requiring the highest layer to manage keys for individual devices, and optimizing metering intervals based on memory and usage changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If symmetric key cryptography is used with pre-shared private keys, then data encryption is achieved, but the server must store and manage multiple private keys which increases complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the key management burden from the server by having the meter device generate and retain its own private key locally. The server only receives encrypted data without needing to store or manage the device's private key, thus removing the complexity of managing multiple private keys while maintaining encryption security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an asymmetric key pair mechanism as an intermediary. The device uses its private key to encrypt data, and the server uses the corresponding public key to decrypt. This intermediary system allows secure communication without the server needing direct access to or management of the device's private key.
2Reliability
If hardware security chips are used, then stronger security functions are provided, but additional costs and difficulty in applying to existing devices occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical hardware security chip approach with a software-based asymmetric cryptography implementation. Instead of requiring physical security modules, the solution uses mathematical algorithms that can be implemented in existing device firmware, achieving strong security without additional hardware costs or manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses software-based cryptographic keys that can be generated and discarded without physical hardware. The private key exists only in software memory, eliminating the need for expensive hardware security modules while providing sufficient security for the application.
3Reliability
If private keys are shared in advance between devices, then encryption is enabled, but secure key exchange becomes problematic without pre-shared secrets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional key exchange approach. Instead of exchanging private keys or pre-sharing secrets, each device generates its own private key independently and keeps it secret. The public key is shared openly, and encryption works in the opposite direction - the device encrypts with its own private key, and the server decrypts with the public key, eliminating the need for secure key exchange.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for managing meter data. The apparatus for managing meter data includes a metering unit for acquiring meter data from a target device based on time information; a communication unit for receiving a message including the time information from a server device and transmitting the meter data to the server device; and a security unit for creating a private key using the time information and encrypting the meter data using the private key.