Embedded Hardware Security Modules for Vehicle IoT Failover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicles with in-vehicle IoT networks are vulnerable to security attacks, compromising safety and data integrity, and existing security approaches are fragmented and insufficient for securing the complete system.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a device with an embedded hardware security module as a trusted authority within the IoT network, providing cryptographic functions and serving as the root of trust, which performs security functions such as authentication, verification, and authorization, and can failover to other devices in case of failure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a device with an embedded hardware security module is implemented as a trusted authority, then security function reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into multiple security devices (primary and secondary), each with embedded hardware security modules. The security functions are segmented and distributed across these devices, with the primary device handling normal operations and the secondary device serving as a standby for failover scenarios. This segmentation improves reliability without requiring a single complex device to handle all security functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The embedded hardware security module acts as an intermediary component within each security device, providing cryptographic functions and secure key management. This intermediary element enhances the reliability of security operations while keeping the overall device architecture modular and manageable, thus addressing the complexity concern.
2Reliability
If multiple security devices are implemented for failover capability, then system availability is improved, but device quantity and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
A secondary security device is pre-configured and maintained in a standby state before any failure occurs. This secondary device is ready to immediately take over security functions if the primary device fails, providing failover capability without requiring complex real-time decision-making or additional devices beyond the necessary minimum.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions between different operational states (primary active/secondary standby, secondary active/primary standby) based on device health status. This parameter change approach allows the system to maintain high availability through role switching rather than requiring multiple simultaneously active security devices, thus optimizing the device quantity needed.
3Reliability
If security functions are distributed across multiple devices, then security robustness is improved, but communication overhead and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple security devices are merged into a logical unified system with coordinated security functions. The primary and secondary devices work together as a single security subsystem, sharing security policies and cryptographic credentials. This merging approach provides the robustness of distributed security while maintaining manageable system complexity through unified management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements health monitoring and status reporting mechanisms where security devices provide feedback about their operational state to the host processor. This feedback enables automatic failover decisions and ensures that security robustness is maintained through continuous monitoring without requiring complex manual intervention or overly complicated communication protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
In some implementations, a host processor associated with a vehicle may select, from a plurality of devices that are configured to communicate with the host processor for performing security functions, a first device to serve as a primary device and a second device to serve as a secondary device. The first device may include a first memory with an embedded hardware security module and may be associated with a first set of nodes of the vehicle. The second device may include a second memory with an embedded hardware security module and may be associated with a second set of nodes of the vehicle. The host processor may determine, based on a signal, a failure associated with the first device or the second device. The host processor may initiate a remediation process based on the failure associated with the first device or the second device. Numerous other implementations are described.