Meter Public Key Encryption Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electronic watt hour meters using the DLMS protocol are vulnerable to security breaches and data manipulation due to the lack of encryption in their communication, making them susceptible to malicious interference during data transmission and reception.
Innovation Solution
A meter and data transmitting/receiving system that employs a public key encryption method, where the meter encodes data frames using a public key received from the server, and the server decodes them using a corresponding private key, ensuring secure communication between the meter and the server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If raw data is transmitted using the DLMS protocol without encryption, then communication simplicity is maintained, but security is compromised allowing data manipulation and unauthorized access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-generating and storing multiple encoded versions of data frames using different encoding algorithms before transmission. When a request is received, the meter selects and transmits one of the pre-encoded frames, eliminating the need for real-time encoding processing during communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical encoding process with a database lookup system. Instead of performing complex encoding operations during data transmission, the system substitutes this with retrieving pre-encoded data from storage, significantly reducing processing complexity while maintaining security.
2Reliability
If data is encoded using public key cryptography, then security against manipulation is improved, but transmission speed and processing efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-generating and storing multiple encoded versions of data frames using different encoding algorithms before transmission. When a request is received, the meter selects and transmits one of the pre-encoded frames, eliminating the need for real-time encoding processing during communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by selectively applying encoding only to specific data frames that require security protection, rather than encoding all data transmissions. This partial application of encoding maintains security for sensitive data while preserving transmission speed for less critical information.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple encoding algorithms are stored in the meter, then adaptability to different security requirements is improved, but device complexity and memory requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by creating multiple copies of the same data frame encoded with different algorithms and storing them in a database. This allows the system to have encoding versatility without storing multiple complete encoding algorithm implementations, as only the encoded results need to be stored.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies universality by implementing a single database storage structure that can hold multiple encoded versions of data frames. This universal storage mechanism serves multiple security requirements without needing separate storage systems for each encoding algorithm.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a meter capable of having communication security and a data transmitting/receiving system using the same, the system being such that a the server generates a public key and a private key corresponding to the public key, and transmits the public key to a meter, and the meter comprises a communication unit receiving the public key from a first communication unit, a frame generating unit encoding the data frame using the public key, and a controller controlling the communication unit to allow transmitting the encoded data frame.