Vehicle Diagnostic Tool Secure Data Transmission via Challenge-Response
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle electronic control units (ECUs) transmit sensitive diagnostic information unsecured, making it vulnerable to malicious attacks and unauthorized access when interfaced with diagnostic tools, as existing security measures do not adequately protect the data during transmission.
Innovation Solution
The method involves encrypting diagnostic data at the ECU and storing it on a vehicle diagnostic tool (VDT) until a secure connection with a remote server is established, where the encrypted data is decrypted using a challenge question, ensuring that decryption keys are not stored on the diagnostic tool and remain inaccessible to potential attackers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If diagnostic data is transmitted unsecured from ECU to diagnostic tool, then ease of operation and data accessibility are improved, but security and protection from malicious attacks deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary encryption of diagnostic data at the ECU before transmission to the diagnostic tool. The challenge-response authentication is also established in advance, creating security measures before the actual data exchange occurs. This ensures data is protected from malicious attacks while maintaining ease of operation for authorized users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary challenge-response authentication mechanism between the ECU and diagnostic tool. The server acts as a trusted intermediary that generates and verifies challenges, ensuring that only authenticated diagnostic tools can access encrypted diagnostic data, thus resolving the contradiction between accessibility and security.
2Ease of operation
If decryption keys are stored on the diagnostic tool for convenience, then ease of operation is improved, but security and protection from compromise deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The decryption keys are extracted from the diagnostic tool and stored securely on the server instead. The diagnostic tool only retains encrypted diagnostic data and challenge-response authentication credentials, not the actual decryption keys. This extraction eliminates the security risk associated with storing keys on portable devices while maintaining decryption capability through server access.
Solution Approach 2:
The system moves the key storage from the local dimension (diagnostic tool) to the remote dimension (server). By changing where the decryption keys reside from the portable diagnostic tool to the fixed secure server, the system maintains ease of operation through network access while dramatically improving security against tool compromise.
3Reliability
If diagnostic data is encrypted and stored on VDT for later transmission, then security is improved, but device complexity and processing requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the encryption and key management functions from the diagnostic tool and places them on the server. The diagnostic tool only handles encrypted data storage and transmission, while the server handles the complex key generation, challenge-response authentication, and decryption processes. This segmentation reduces device complexity at the diagnostic tool while maintaining strong data protection.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication system in a vehicle is described and various methods for securely providing diagnostic data between a vehicle and a remote server using a vehicle diagnostic tool. The method may include the steps of: receiving at the remote from the diagnostic tool both a challenge question and encrypted data acquired by the diagnostic tool from a vehicle electronic control unit; using the challenge question to determine how to decrypt the encrypted data; and decrypting the encrypted data at the remote server.