Authentication system and car onboard control device

• US 10,095,859 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2015
• Issued: 10/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Miyake, Junji
• Primary Examiner(s): Shepperd, Eric W
• Application Number:
  US15/120,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20160371481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,355 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/445 by mutual authentication, e.g. between devices or programs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0838 using one-time-passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0846 using time-dependent-passwords, e.g. periodically changing passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3228 One-time or temporary data, i.e. information which is sent for every authentication or authorization, e.g. one-time-password, one-time-token or one-time-key
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3273 for mutual authentication network architectures or network communication protocols for achieving mutual authentication in a packet data network H04L63/0869

Abstract

The present invention prevents a maintenance tool for carrying out maintenance work of an electronic control unit (ECU) from being abused by a third person. In an authentication system according to the present invention, an authentication apparatus authenticates an operator of an operation terminal (equivalent to the maintenance tool), and the operation terminal forwards an authentication code generated by the authentication apparatus to the ECU. By using the authentication code, the ECU determines whether or not to permit the operation terminal to carry out a maintenance operation.

Claims

1. An authentication system configured to authenticate an operation terminal used for maintaining an electronic control unit (ECU) controlling operation of a vehicle, the authentication system comprising:

an authentication apparatus connected to the operation terminal through a communication line and configured to authenticate an operator operating the operation terminal; and

the ECU, wherein

the ECU is configured to determine whether or not to permit the operation terminal to carry out operation for maintaining the ECU,

each of the authentication apparatus and the ECU includes;

a changing code generation source configured to generate a changing code synchronized to each other;

a storage unit configured to store a common key unique to the vehicle and shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU; and

an authentication code generator configured to generate an authentication code by using the changing code and the common key,

the authentication apparatus authenticates the operator upon receiving an authentication request from the operation terminal,

once an authentication of the operator is successful, acquires information specifying the common key from the operation terminal, generates the authentication code by using the changing code and the common key and sends the authentication code to the operation terminal,

the operation terminal sends the authentication code received from the authentication apparatus to the ECU, and

the ECU generates the authentication code by using the changing code and the common key, and in a case where the authentication code having been generated and the authentication code having been received from the operation terminal match with each other, permits the operation terminal to carry out the operation for maintaining the ECU.

2. The authentication system according to claim 1, wherein

the changing code generation source generates a time being synchronized between the authentication apparatus and the ECU as a changing code, and

by applying a Hash function shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU to the changing code and the common key, the authentication code generator generates a one-time password as the authentication code.

3. The authentication system according to claim 1, wherein

the changing code generation source uses information capable of being received by the authentication apparatus and the ECU and being synchronized therebetween as the changing code, and

the authentication code generator generates a one-time password as the authentication code by applying a Hash function shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU to the changing code and the common key.

4. The authentication system according to claim 1, wherein

the changing code generation source uses information specifying the number of times the authentication code has been generated by the authentication code generator as the changing code, and

the authentication code generator uses, in place of the changing code and the common key, a superimposition code obtained by applying the Hash function shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU to the common key by the number of times of superimposition and generates a one-time password as the authentication code.

5. The authentication system according to claim 4, wherein

the authentication code generator stores the number of times the authentication code has been generated in the storage unit, and when generating the authentication code next time, uses, in place of the changing code and the common key, the superimposition code obtained by applying the Hash function shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU to the common key by the number of times of storage.

6. The authentication system according to claim 4, wherein

the authentication code generator stores the superimposition code in the storage unit, and when generating the authentication code next time, uses, in place of the changing code and the common key, a superimposition code obtained by applying the Hash function shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU only once to the superimposition code having been stored and stored again.

7. The authentication system according to claim 4, wherein

in a case where the authentication code having been generated do not match with the authentication code having been received from the operation terminal, the authentication code generator of the ECU sends authentication error data notifying thereof to the operation terminal, and

the operation terminal forwards the authentication error data to the authentication apparatus.

8. The authentication system according to claim 1, wherein

the authentication code generator provided to each of the authentication apparatus and the ECU generates the authentication code by using a terminal ID unique to the operation terminal in addition to the changing code and the common key.

9. An ECU configured to control operation of a vehicle, the ECU comprising:

a changing code generation source configured to generate a changing code changing in synchronization with a changing code generated by an authentication apparatus authenticating an operator operating an operation terminal being used for maintaining the ECU;

a storage unit configured to store a common key being shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU and being unique to the vehicle; and

an authentication code generator configured to generate an authentication code by using the changing code and the common key, wherein

the authentication code generator receives the authentication code from the operation terminal,

generates the authentication code by using the changing code and the common key, and in a case where the authentication code having been generated and the authentication code having been received from the operation terminal match with each other, permits the operation terminal to carry out operation for maintaining the ECU.

10. The ECU according to claim 9, wherein

the changing code generation source generates a time having been synchronized between the authentication apparatus and the ECU as the changing code, and

the authentication code generator generates a one-time password as the authentication code by applying a Hash function shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU to the changing code and the common key.

11. The ECU according to claim 9, wherein

the changing code generation source uses information capable of being received by the authentication apparatus and the ECU and being synchronized therebetween as the changing code, and

the authentication code generator generates a one-time password as the authentication code by applying a Hash function shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU to the changing code and the common key.

12. The ECU according to claim 9, wherein

the changing code generation source uses information specifying the number of times the authentication code has been generated by the authentication code generator as the changing code, and

the authentication code generator uses, in place of the changing code and the common key, a superimposition code obtained by applying the Hash function shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU to the common key the number of times of superimposition and generates a one-time password as the authentication code.

13. The ECU according to claim 12, wherein

the authentication code generator stores the superimposition code in the storage unit, and when generating the authentication code next time, uses, in place of the changing code and the common key, the superimposition code obtained by applying the Hash function shared between the authentication apparatus and the ECU only once to the superimposition code having been stored and stored again.

14. The ECU according to claim 12, wherein

in a case where the authentication code having been generated do not match with the authentication code having been received from the operation terminal, the authentication code generator sends authentication error data notifying thereof to the operation terminal.

15. The ECU according to claim 9, wherein

the authentication code generator generates the authentication code by using a terminal ID unique to the operation terminal in addition to the changing code and the common key.