Secure communication of IOT devices for vehicles

• US 10,153,908 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2017
• Issued: 12/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Central, Inc.
• Original Assignee: T-Central, Inc.
• Inventors: Kravitz, David W., Graham, III, Donald Houston, Boudett, Josselyn L., Dietz, Russell S., Stacy, Kent William
• Primary Examiner(s): Truong, Thanhnga B
• Application Number:
  US15/686,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20180006829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 474 Days
• Field of Search: 713156, 709245, 37920201, 37920301, 700287, 370445, 370337, 290 1 A, 307 91
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0819 Key transport or distribution, i.e. key establishment techniques where one party creates or otherwise obtains a secret value, and securely transfers it to the other(s) network architectures or network communication protocols for key distribution in a packet data network H04L63/062
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3255 using group based signatures, e.g. ring or threshold signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3268 using certificate validation, registration, distribution or revocation, e.g. certificate revocation list [CRL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/76 Group identity

Abstract

Method for establishing secure communication between a plurality of IoT devices in one or more vehicles include: provisioning the plurality of IoT devices by providing a unique identification, a digital identity token and a cryptographic key to each of the plurality of IoT devices; establishing a secure communication line between the plurality of IoT devices by authenticating respective communication lines between respective IoT devices and issuing a digital certificate to the respective communication lines; grouping the plurality of IoT devices into different groups based on a predetermined criteria; and including a group membership for a group of the different groups in an attribute certificate indicating group characterization.

Claims

1. A method for establishing secure communication between a plurality of devices in one or more vehicles, each device including a hardware processor and associated memory, the method comprising:

transmitting a unique identification, a digital identity token and a cryptographic key to each of the plurality of devices, over a communication network;

authenticating respective communication lines between respective devices and issuing a digital certificate to the respective communication lines to establish secure communication lines between the plurality of devices;

grouping the plurality of devices into different groups based on a predetermined criteria;

including a group membership for a group of the different groups in an attribute certificate indicating group characterization, wherein the attribute certificate is owned by one of the plurality of devices and references a public key for said one of the plurality of devices; and

preventing a device for which a secure communication line to any one of the plurality of devices has not been established, or which is not a member of a group with an approved attribute certificate, from communicating with said any one of the plurality of devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the secure communication lines includes a digital agreement establishing terms of use of said each secure communication line between respective devices.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the different groups include sub-groups.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein each of the one or more vehicles has a different group and each sub-group of a respective group includes components of a respective vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said devices are Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and wherein one or more IoT devices are coupled to a controller area network (CAN) bus of a vehicle and may establish a secure communication line with another IoT device that is coupled to the CAN bus or not coupled to the CAN bus.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said devices are Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and wherein one or more IoT devices are coupled to a controller area network (CAN) bus of a vehicle and are made a member of a group of IoT devices that are characterized with the CAN bus as recorded on an attribute certificate, and wherein an attribute certificate associated with a group is utilized by an eligible originator for communicating between one or more of the group.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said devices are Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and wherein the secure communication lines are utilized for communicating between one or more of the group consisting of Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), Vehicle-to-X (V2X), and on-board diagnostics (OBD) of a vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a group for a particular vehicle includes variable identities for the particular vehicle for transmission to external devices.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the variable identities dynamically change based on one or more of certain mode or time of operation of the particular vehicle or its IoT devices.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising preventing a device for which a secure communication line to the plurality of devices has not been established, or which is not a member of a group with an approved attribute certificate, from communicating with the plurality of devices.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising authenticating each of the plurality of devices using the unique identification and the digital identity token of said each of the plurality of IoT devices.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein authenticating a device comprises using an inviter-invitee protocol.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more vehicles include one or more of an ambulance, a police vehicles, a tow trucks, a hazardous materials vehicle, a military vehicle or other defined vehicle type.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a second group of external devices;

issuing a second group private key to each member of the second group; and

establishing an attribute certificate to the second group to a member of one or more of said different groups.

10. A method of for establishing secure communication between a plurality of devices in one or more vehicles, each device including a hardware processor and associated memory, the method comprising:

transmitting a unique identification, a digital identity token and a cryptographic key to each of the plurality of devices, over a communication network;

authenticating respective communication lines between respective devices and issuing a digital certificate to the respective communication lines to establish secure communication lines between the plurality of devices;

grouping the plurality of devices into different groups based on a predetermined criteria;

including a group membership for a group of the different groups in an attribute certificate indicating group characterization,

wherein the different groups include an external device group including devices in a particular vehicle that monitor external area of the particular vehicle communicating with other devices outside of the particular vehicle, and an internal device group including devices that monitor internal area of the particular vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the external device group or the internal device group includes associated rules that prevents the group from transmitting certain information to other devices.