Electric Vessel Component Authentication on CAN Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of using non-compatible components in electric watercraft, such as batteries or outboard motors, can lead to overheating, fires, and even explosions, necessitating a solution to ensure genuine components are used.
Innovation Solution
Implementing cryptographic authentication methods among vessel components using shared private keys, where genuine components exchange cleartext and encrypted messages, with only a portion of the message transmitted to guard against key breaking, and employing an encoding/decoding mechanism to reconstruct messages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cryptographic authentication is implemented among vessel components, then component compatibility and safety are improved, but device complexity and communication overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
Authentication keys and cryptographic credentials are pre-configured in components during manufacturing before deployment. This preliminary setup enables automatic authentication when components are installed in the vessel, eliminating the need for manual configuration and reducing system complexity during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
A centralized authentication server or cloud-based service acts as an intermediary to manage cryptographic keys and verify component identities. This external mediator handles the complex authentication logic remotely, simplifying the onboard system architecture while maintaining security.
2Measurement precision
If full authentication messages are transmitted, then authentication accuracy is improved, but communication bandwidth consumption and transmission time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Only essential authentication elements (such as cryptographic signatures or key identifiers) are extracted and transmitted from the full authentication message. The receiving component can verify authenticity using these extracted elements without needing to process the entire message, reducing bandwidth consumption while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transmits a partial authentication message containing sufficient information for verification. This partial message includes critical security elements but omits redundant data, achieving the minimum necessary communication for secure authentication.
Data Source
AI summary
According to embodiments of the present disclosure, various methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for cryptographic authentication of components in an electric vessel are described herein. In some aspects, a first device of a plurality of vessel powertrain components receives a first authentication message from a second device of the plurality of vessel powertrain components via a control area network. The first device identifies, based on the first authentication message, an encryption key, a cleartext message, and an encrypted message. The first device authenticates, using the first encryption key, the second device based on the first cleartext message and the first encrypted message.