Method and system for vehicle authentication of another vehicle

• US 20040003229A1
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Published: 01/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Temic Automotive of North America, Incorporated (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Temic Automotive of North America, Incorporated (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Levenson, Samuel M., Fehr, Walton L., Reinold, Jurgen
• Granted Patent: US 7,600,114 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/155
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0234 related to maintenance or repairing of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/062 for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819
• 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 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response

Abstract

A first vehicle obtains from a certification authority a certification that an authentic vehicle is associated with a cryptographic key. The certification certifies that the cryptographic key is bound to information identifying the authentic vehicle, and may be implemented. The first vehicle utilizes the cryptographic key obtained from the certification authority in cryptographic communication with a second vehicle, and determines whether the second vehicle is the authentic vehicle based on whether the cryptographic key is successfully utilized in the cryptographic communication. Upon determining the second vehicle is the authentic vehicle, the first vehicle may communicate further with the second vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for a first vehicle communicating securely with a second vehicle, the method performed by the first vehicle and comprising the steps of:

obtaining from a certification authority a certification that an authentic vehicle is associated with a cryptographic key;

utilizing the cryptographic key in cryptographic communication with the second vehicle;

determining whether the second vehicle is the authentic vehicle based on whether the cryptographic key is successfully utilized in the cryptographic communication; and

communicating further with the second vehicle upon determining the second vehicle is the authentic vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the certification comprises a digital certificate.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the certification comprises a digital signature of the certification authority.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the certification authority is authenticated by a second certification authority.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining that the certification authority is authorized to certify the authentic vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is performed by a vehicle system of the first vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is performed by a component of the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the authentic vehicle has a first cryptographic key and the cryptographic key with which the certification associates the authentic vehicle is a second cryptographic key corresponding to the first cryptographic key.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the first cryptographic key is accessible only by the authentic vehicle.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the first cryptographic key is a private cryptographic key of the authentic vehicle and the second cryptographic key is a public cryptographic key of the authentic vehicle.

11. A system for a first vehicle communicating securely with a second vehicle, the system comprising:

a configuration element of the first vehicle obtaining from a certification authority a certification that an authentic vehicle is associated with a cryptographic key, the vehicle system comprising

a cryptographic computing element utilizing the cryptographic key in cryptographic communication the with second vehicle; and

a computing unit determining whether the second vehicle is the authentic component based on whether the cryptographic key is successfully utilized in the cryptographic communication.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the certification comprises a digital certificate.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the certification comprises a digital signature of the certification authority.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the certification authority is authenticated by a second certification authority.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the computing unit determines that the certification authority is authorized to certify the authentic vehicle.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the configuration element is a vehicle system of the first vehicle.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein the configuration element is a component of the first vehicle.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein the authentic vehicle has a first cryptographic key and the cryptographic key with which the certification associates the authentic vehicle is a second cryptographic key corresponding to the first cryptographic key.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the first cryptographic key is accessible only by the authentic vehicle.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the first cryptographic key is a private cryptographic key of the authentic vehicle and the second cryptographic key is a public cryptographic key of the authentic vehicle.