Vehicle Monitoring Application Integrity Check Against Memory Tampering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing information processing devices for vehicles are vulnerable to unauthorized access, which can lead to tampering of applications stored in memory, causing improper operations.
Innovation Solution
The device includes a protected area for storing duplicate applications and an unprotected area for monitoring applications, with a processing unit that compares source codes from both areas to detect discrepancies, stopping execution if tampering is detected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If access to the memory is restricted to protect against unauthorized access, then security is improved, but the ability to detect tampering is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The memory is divided into a protected area (where the monitoring application is stored) and an unprotected area (where the duplicate application is stored). This segmentation allows the system to use different access control mechanisms for different purposes: the protected area maintains security while the unprotected area allows reading for comparison purposes without compromising overall security
Solution Approach 2:
The processing circuitry acts as an intermediary that reads data from both the protected and unprotected areas and compares them. This intermediary function enables tampering detection without requiring direct access to either memory area, thus maintaining security while enabling detection
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the memory is made fully accessible for monitoring purposes, then tampering detection is improved, but security is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Different areas of the memory have different access properties: the protected area requires specific access permissions while the unprotected area does not. This local differentiation allows the system to enable reading in the unprotected area for comparison purposes without making the entire memory accessible, thus maintaining security while enabling detection
3Reliability
If a protected area is created for secure storage, then security is improved, but device complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The memory is segmented into protected and unprotected areas, which can be implemented as distinct memory regions or partitions. This segmentation provides security through differentiated access control while maintaining a relatively simple overall memory structure that can be managed through software or hardware memory management mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
An unprotected area of a storage stores a monitoring application. A protected area of the storage stores a duplicate application that is a copy of the monitoring application at a point in time when the monitoring application was stored in the unprotected area. Based on an execution signal of the monitoring application, a CPU stores, as first data in a RAM, a copy of a source code included in the monitoring application. The CPU also executes the monitoring application based on the first data. Based on the execution signal, the CPU stores, as second data in the RAM, the copy of the source code included in the duplicate application. During execution of the monitoring application, the CPU stops execution of the monitoring application when a discrepancy is detected between the first data and the second data.