Hierarchical Vehicular Data Access Using Derived Child Keys
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for controlling access to encrypted vehicular data face challenges such as unintended data leakage, over-privileged access, and key management complexity, particularly when service providers need to access specific data without compromising user privacy.
Innovation Solution
A hierarchical access control method using a nodular tree structure, where vehicular data is encrypted with child keys generated based on a root key, allowing authorized users to decrypt specific data and its associated child data by deriving child cryptographic keys, without requiring storage of private keys locally or sharing the entire cryptographic key set.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the service provider is provided with the cryptographic key to decrypt diagnostic data, then the service provider can access the encrypted data, but the service provider is able to decrypt and download all stored data including private user information
Solution Approach 1:
The cryptographic key management is segmented into hierarchical levels (root key, intermediate keys, leaf keys) corresponding to different data categories and time periods. Service providers receive only the specific key needed for their authorized access scope, not the entire key set. This segmentation prevents them from accessing data outside their authorization while maintaining ease of access to permitted data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and separates the decryption capability from the full cryptographic key set. Instead of providing the complete key, only the specific intermediate or leaf key corresponding to the required data scope is extracted and provided to the service provider. This extraction principle ensures that sensitive root keys and other unrelated keys remain secure while enabling necessary access.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If data is individually encrypted according to type and collection time, then data security is improved, but the complexity of cryptographic key management increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested hierarchical key structure where root keys contain intermediate keys, which in turn contain leaf keys. Each encryption level is nested within the previous level, creating a structured dependency chain. This nesting organizes the complexity into manageable layers, where each level manages a specific scope of data (all data, category-level data, or time-specific data), reducing the operational complexity compared to managing entirely separate keys for each data element.
Solution Approach 2:
The root key serves multiple functions: it can directly decrypt any encrypted data, generate intermediate keys for category-level access, or generate leaf keys for specific time-period access. This multi-functionality reduces the number of keys that need to be managed at higher levels, as a single root key can derive any necessary subordinate keys, thereby reducing overall key management complexity while maintaining fine-grained security.
3Reliability
If multiple cryptographic keys are provided for different time periods, then access control precision is improved, but the complexity in key management increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a hierarchical dimension to key management, organizing keys not just by time period but by multiple levels of abstraction (root → intermediate → leaf). This dimensional organization allows service providers to receive keys at the appropriate level for their needs without requiring management of all time-specific keys. The hierarchical dimension reduces complexity by allowing higher-level keys to represent multiple lower-level keys, while maintaining precise access control through the leaf-level time-specific keys.
Data Source
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AI summary
This document describes a system and method for controlling access to encrypted vehicular data. The system described in this document employs a hierarchical access control method that allows select encrypted vehicular data stored in a cloud server to be accessed by an authorized user in a hierarchical manner whereby the authorized user is then able to decrypt the select encrypted data and all child data associated with the select encrypted data.