Relay attack prevention

• US 10,142,846 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2013
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Eder, Manfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tang, Son M
• Application Number:
  US14/010,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20140169193A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,919 Days
• Field of Search: 34042613-42617, 340 51- 523, 340 58- 586, 340 101- 1031, 340 104- 1052
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00555 comprising means to detect or avoid relay attacks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/122 Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/79 Radio fingerprint

Abstract

Embodiments related to transmission of data packets are described and depicted.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a wireless data packet signal from a transmitter, the data packet signal including a data packet, the data packet including payload data and further information;

determining, from received signal strength values of the data packet signal, first information related to a sequence of received signal strength levels in different data packet portions;

extracting the further information from the received data packet;

determining, based on the further information included in the data packet, second information related to a sequence of expected signal strength levels in the different data packet portions; and

determining whether the first information corresponds to the second information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each signal strength level of the sequence of received signal strength levels relates to a signal strength level of a data packet portion.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein each specific data packet portion includes a specific bit set of payload data.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

verifying a data packet transmission based on the determining whether the first information corresponds to the second information.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sequence of received signal strength levels relates to a sequence of signal strength levels associated with a sequence of data packet portions.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the sequence of received signal strength levels relates to a sequence of difference signal levels, wherein each difference signal level of the sequence of difference signal levels relates to a difference in signal strength levels in adjacent data packet portions of the sequence of data packet portions.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the further information is generated by the transmitter based on random or pseudo-random information.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the further information includes a number of elements in the sequence of signal strength levels.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sequence of received signal strength levels of the data packet signal corresponds to a sequence of signal strength levels in predetermined portions of the data packet.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the further information is generated based on signal strength information and a rule applied to the signal strength information, the rule being pre-known to the receiver and transmitter.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the rule includes an assignment of predetermined storage location identifiers to identify predetermined storage locations in which predetermined signal strength values are stored at the receiver.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the storage locations are registers.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the rule includes a selection rule which assigns to each signal strength an identifier which identifies a specific register address in which a specific power level value is stored at the receiver.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the transmitter is capable to generate for each data packet transmitted a different signal strength sequence.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein the rule includes a selection rule, the selection rule determining which data packets portions of a sequence of portions with different signal levels are to be used in an authentication.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein an authentication of the data packet uses at least one further parameter which changed with each transmission of data packets between the transmitter and receiver.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein the rule includes a rule to determine a selection rule used for determining the signal strength information and/or a data packet portion related to the signal strength information.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data packet comprises a payload data field, the payload data field including a first portion provided for the further information and a second portion provided for other data.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the further information is transmitted unencrypted.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is implemented in a keyless entry system.

21. A transmitter device comprising:

a data packet generator, the data packet generator configured to form a data packet including data and further information, the further information being related to a sequence of signal strength levels in different data packet portions by a predetermined rule; and

a transmission signal generator, the transmission signal generator being configured to modulate the data packet on a wireless carrier signal and to provide a sequence of different signal strength levels in different data packet portions in correspondence with the sequence of signal strength levels.

22. The transmitter device according to claim 21, wherein the transmitter device is configured to determine a sequence of signal strength levels and to generate the further information based on to the sequence of signal strength levels and a pre-defined rule applied to the sequence of signal strength levels.

23. The transmitter device according to claim 21, wherein the transmitter device is configured to determine the sequence of signal strength levels at least partially based on random or pseudo-random information.

24. A method comprising:

transmitting a wireless data packet from a transmitter to a receiver, wherein transmitting the wireless data packet comprises;

modulating the data packet on a wireless carrier signal to obtain a wireless modulated transmission signal; and

impressing a signal strength fingerprint on different data packet portions of the modulated transmission signal, wherein the impressed signal strength fingerprint is related to fingerprint identifier information included in the data packet by a rule pre-known to the transmitter and receiver.

25. A receiver device comprising:

a receiver circuit to receive a data packet including data and further information;

a circuit to determine first information related to a sequence of signal strength levels, the sequence of signal strength levels corresponding to signal strength levels measured in different portions of the data packet;

a processing circuit to extract the further information from the data packet and to determine from the further information second information related to an expected sequence of signal strength levels in different portions of the data packet; and

a validation circuit to validate the data packet, the validation circuit being configured to validate the data packet based on a comparing of the first information with the second information.