Touch Input Session Switching for Secure In-Car Data Entry
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Touch inputs on touch-sensitive input units in motor vehicles are vulnerable to manipulation and unauthorized reading during transmission to the computer system, particularly when external applications are connected, lacking adequate security measures to protect sensitive data like passwords and PINs.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a touch control unit that manages graphical user interfaces and switches between security sessions on the touch-sensitive input unit, encrypting and signing touch inputs as needed, based on application requests and visibility, to protect sensitive data during transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If touch input data is encrypted during transmission, then security against manipulation and unauthorized reading is improved, but compatibility with external applications that cannot handle encryption is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic switching between encrypted and unencrypted transmission modes based on the receiving application's capabilities. The touch controller detects whether an application can handle encrypted data and adjusts the transmission mode accordingly, allowing the system to adapt its security level to the specific application context.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies encryption selectively to specific data streams or transmission channels based on the receiving application's requirements. Instead of encrypting all touch input data uniformly, the system applies encryption only where needed, allowing external applications without encryption capability to receive unencrypted data while protected applications receive encrypted data.
2Reliability
If encryption is continuously active, then protection against attacks is improved, but processing overhead and energy consumption are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic evaluation of security requirements by the touch controller, which assesses whether encryption is currently needed based on the active application's capabilities. Encryption is activated only during periods when protected applications are running and deactivated when they are not, creating a periodic on-demand encryption pattern.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary assessment of application encryption capabilities before initiating encrypted transmission. The touch controller checks whether the target application can handle encrypted data in advance, and only activates encryption when this condition is met, avoiding unnecessary encryption overhead.
3Reliability
If all data traffic on bus connection is encrypted, then security is improved, but difficulty of retrofitting external applications is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements selective encryption on the bus connection, where different data streams or communication channels are encrypted based on the receiving device's capabilities. External applications connected to the bus can receive unencrypted data, while authorized applications receive encrypted data on dedicated channels, allowing both legacy and secure applications to coexist.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the bus communication system to support multiple transmission modes (encrypted and unencrypted) simultaneously, making the system universal enough to accommodate both external applications without encryption capability and protected applications that require encryption. The touch controller acts as a gateway that can translate between these modes.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for operating a touch-sensitive input unit (30) of an operating device (20) of a motor vehicle (10). A touch-sensitive control unit (80) controls whether a protection session (34) for encrypting or signing user inputs for respective applications should be activated by switching to the protection session (34) if a message of a composition circuit (70) confirms that the graphic user interface of the respective application is displayed in the foreground of a display and that the touch-sensitive control unit (80) has received an activation message (81) from the respective application.