Vehicle Data Anonymization Using Fleet Tokens and Random Delays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for transmitting vehicle data fail to ensure anonymous transmission while preventing identity determination and maintaining authorized client authentication, and lack effective mechanisms for blocking unauthorized clients and load distribution on token servers.
Innovation Solution
A method involving vehicle authentication using a token server, issuance of a fleet token valid for all clients within a period, random transmission delay, and synchronized token rotation to ensure anonymous data transmission while allowing blocking and load distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If vehicle data is transmitted immediately after authentication, then data transmission efficiency is improved, but the vehicle can be identified through timing correlation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by implementing random delay intervals between authentication and data transmission. The vehicle waits for a randomly determined period before transmitting data, which breaks the direct timing correlation that would otherwise enable identification. This periodic interruption maintains transmission functionality while achieving anonymity.
2Reliability
If individual client blocking is implemented, then unauthorized access control is improved, but token server load increases during token rotation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the token rotation process into synchronized phases across multiple vehicles. Instead of all vehicles contacting the token server simultaneously for rotation, they are distributed across different time windows. This segmentation reduces peak server load while maintaining the ability to block individual clients through the authorized vehicle list mechanism.
3Reliability
If centralized authentication is used, then access control is improved, but the system becomes vulnerable to single point of failure and high server load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism in the form of pre-distributed tokens and authorized vehicle lists that operate semi-independently from the central authentication server. Once tokens are distributed and the authorized vehicle list is established, vehicles can operate with a degree of autonomy, reducing the central server's role to periodic updates rather than continuous authentication, thereby reducing single-point-of-failure vulnerability.
Data Source
AI summary
Data is anonymously transmitted from a vehicle to a computer via a data link. The vehicle authenticates itself for the data transmission. The vehicle authenticates itself as a client in a token server by one or more authentication methods. The authentication and authorization of the client is checked by the token server. If the token server determines that the client is not blocked, a currently valid fleet token, which is identical for all clients within a pre-determined period of time, is sent by the token server to the vehicle as a client. The vehicle waits for a random period of time within a configurable time interval before the vehicle uses the fleet token to transmit the data to the computer, such that a correlation between the vehicle and the transmitted data via a time measurement is prevented.