SECURING A COMMAND PATH BETWEEN A VEHICLE AND PERSONAL WIRELESS DEVICE

• US 20140270172A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Peirce, Kenneth L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,276,737 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/270
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• 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 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• 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 9/0819 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 9/0822 using key encryption key
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0825 using asymmetric-key encryption or public key infrastructure [PKI], e.g. key signature or public key certificates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/083 involving central third party, e.g. key distribution center [KDC] or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3297 involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/0431 Key distribution or pre-distribution; Key agreement
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/72 Subscriber identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

A system and a method using that system is provided for establishing a secure communication channel between a vehicle and a mobile device. The method may include providing at least one unique mobile device identifier and at least one unique vehicle telematics unit identifier associated with the mobile device identifier to a call center. At least one of the two identifiers may be provided to a wireless service provider. Two private keys may be generated—a first private key based on the at least one unique mobile identifier and a second private key based on the at least one unique vehicle telematics unit identifier. The first private key may be provided to the mobile device within a first cryptographic envelope signed with a first cryptographic key. And the second private key may be provided to the vehicle telematics unit within a second cryptographic envelope signed with a second cryptographic key.

Claims

1. A method of establishing a secure communication channel between a vehicle and a mobile device, comprising the steps of:

providing at least one unique mobile device identifier and at least one unique vehicle telematics unit (VTU) identifier associated with the mobile device identifier to a call center;

generating at least one private key associated at least in part with the at least one unique mobile identifier and at least in part with the at least one unique VTU identifier;

providing the at least one private key to the mobile device within a first cryptographic envelope signed with a first cryptographic key; and

providing the at least one private key to the VTU within a second cryptographic envelope signed with a second cryptographic key, wherein the second cryptographic envelope is different than the first cryptographic envelope.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile device provides to the call center the at least one unique mobile device identifier and the at least one unique VTU identifier.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the mobile device receives the VTU identifier from the VTU using short range wireless communication (SRWC).

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one unique mobile device identifier includes a first international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), wherein the at least one unique VTU identifier includes a second IMSI.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one certificate authority performs the generating step, wherein the at least one certificate authority includes a wireless service provider (WSP) or the call center.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the certificate authority is the call center, wherein the call center provides the at least one private key to the WSP, wherein the providing step to the mobile device is completed by the WSP, wherein the providing step to the VTU is completed by either the WSP or the call center.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second cryptographic keys are based on one of a private key infrastructure or a public key infrastructure.

8. A method of receiving a secure communication at a vehicle from a mobile device, comprising the steps of:

establishing short range wireless communication (SRWC) between a mobile device and a vehicle telematics unit (VTU);

receiving at the VTU at least one communication from the mobile device, wherein the at least one communication is digitally signed using a first private key, wherein the first private key is associated at least in part with a unique identifier associated with a first subscriber identity module (SIM) within the mobile device, wherein the at least one communication includes a first public key associated with the first private key; and

decrypting the at least one communication at the VTU using the first public key,

wherein the first private key was received by the mobile device previous to the receiving step in a first cryptographic envelope signed with a first cryptographic key from a wireless service provider (WSP).

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the at least one communication is a command to perform at least one vehicle function, wherein the at least one vehicle function includes one of unlocking a vehicle door or starting the vehicle'"'"'s engine.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the first cryptographic key is based on private key infrastructure between the WSP and the mobile device that existed prior to generating the first private key.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the transmission of the at least one communication is enabled by the actuation of a hard switch on the mobile device.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the switch actuation enables a transmission antenna on the mobile device or enables the first SIM in the mobile device to an operative state.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising a validating step, comprising sending a challenge message from the VTU to the mobile device via SRWC, wherein the challenge message is digitally signed using a second private key, wherein the second private key was received by the VTU previous to the receiving step in a second cryptographic envelope signed with a second cryptographic key, wherein the challenge message includes a challenge query and a second public key associated with the second private key whereby the mobile device may decipher the challenge message.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the second cryptographic envelope is associated with a private key infrastructure between either the VTU and the call center or the VTU and the WSP that existed prior to generating the second private key.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the challenge query includes a nonce challenge.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising receiving a response message from the mobile device in response to the challenge query, wherein the response message is signed using the first private key.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the at least one communication received at the VTU from the mobile device has a first time stamp, the challenge message has a second time stamp, and the response message has a third time stamp, wherein the validating step further comprises the duration of time between any two of time stamps is less than or equal to a predetermined value.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein the second private key is associated at least in part with a unique identifier associated with a first subscriber identity module (SIM) having a computer processing unit (CPU) within the VTU, wherein the digital signature is based on the second private key and random data accessible to the SIM CPU.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein second private key accessible only to the SIM CPU.

20. A method of secure communication, comprising the steps of:

receiving at a mobile device a first private key in an encrypted envelope from a wireless service provider (WSP), wherein the mobile device has a subscriber identity module (SIM) having a computer processing unit (CPU);

receiving at a vehicle telematics unit (VTU) a second private key in an encrypted envelope from one of a call center or the WSP, wherein the mobile device has a subscriber identity module (SIM) having a computer processing unit (CPU), wherein the first and second private keys are associated with a first identifier in the mobile device and a second identifier in the VTU;

establishing short range wireless communication (SRWC) between the mobile device and the VTU;

receiving at the VTU a first communication via SRWC from the mobile device digitally signed using the first private key, wherein the digital signature of the mobile device is associated with the first private key and random data accessible to mobile device'"'"'s SIM CPU;

after decrypting the first communication, responding to the mobile device with a second communication via SRWC digitally signed using the second private key, wherein the digital signature of the VTU is associated with the second private key and random data accessible to VTU'"'"'s SIM CPU.