SECURITY SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROTECTING A VEHICLE ELECTRONIC SYSTEM

• US 20150020152A1
• Filed: 03/28/2013
• Published: 01/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sheelds Cyber Limited
• Original Assignee: Arliou Information Security Technologies Ltd.
• Inventors: Litichever, Gil, Levi, Ziv
• Granted Patent: US 9,881,165 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/85 interconnection devices, e.g. bus-connected or in-line devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40143 involving priority mechanisms hybrid switching fabrics H04L12/6402; intermediate storage or scheduling H04L49/90; time-division multiplex systems H04J3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40169 Flexible bus arrangements arrangements for maintenance or administration involving management of faults; events, alarms H04L41/06; automatic restoration of network faults H04L41/0654
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40215 Controller Area Network CAN
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/14 for detecting or protecting against malicious traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1425 Traffic logging, e.g. anomaly detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1458 Denial of Service
• 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: H04W 4/48 for in-vehicle communication

Abstract

Security system for protecting a vehicle electronic system by selectively intervening in the communications path in order to prevent the arrival of malicious messages at ECUs, in particular at the safety critical ECUs. The security system includes a filter which prevents illegal messages sent by any system or device communicating over a vehicle communications bus from reaching their destination. The filter may, at its discretion according to preconfigured rules, send messages as is, block messages, change the content of the messages, request authentication or limit the rate such messages can be delivered, by buffering the messages and sending them only in preconfigured intervals.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A vehicle electronic control unit (ECU) having an embedded security system, the electronic control unit (ECU) comprising embedded therein:

a logic unit, configured to control a function of said vehicle;

a computer processor, in communication with said logic unit;

a message receiving unit, configured to intercept a message being communicated over a communication path between a communications bus of said vehicle and said logic unit;

a message analysis unit, implemented on said computer processor, in communication with said message receiving unit, configured to determine whether communication of data based on said intercepted message, over said communication path between said communications bus of said vehicle and said logic unit, is allowable, according to at least one rule applied on said intercepted message; and

a message transmission unit, in communication with said message analysis unit, configured to forward said data over said communication path, only upon said communication of said data being determined to be allowable by said message analysis unit.

22. A security system for vehicle electronic control unit (ECU) protection, the system comprising:

a computer processor associated with an ECU of a vehicle;

a message receiving unit, configured to intercept a message being communicated over a communication path between a communications bus of said vehicle and said ECU;

a message analysis unit, implemented on said computer processor, in communication with said message receiving unit, configured to determine whether communication of data based on said intercepted message over said communication path between said communications bus of said vehicle and said ECU, is allowable, according to at least one rule applied on said intercepted message; and

a message transmission unit, in communication with said message analysis unit, configured to forward said data over said communication path, only upon said communication of said data being determined to be allowable by said message analysis unit.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a proxy element, configured to proxy for at least one of said communications bus and ECU.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein said computer processor is integrated inside said ECU.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein said computer processor is installed on a hardware component physically coupled to said ECU.

26. A method for vehicle electronic control unit (ECU) protection, the method comprising:

a) by a computer processor associated with an ECU of a vehicle, intercepting a message being communicated over a communication path between a communications bus of said vehicle and said ECU;

b) determining whether communication of data based on said intercepted message over said communication path between said communications bus of said vehicle and said ECU, is allowable, according to at least one rule applied on said intercepted message; and

c) forwarding said data over said communication path, only upon said communication of said data being determined to be allowable.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising deriving said data from said received message.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising proxying for at least one of said communications bus and said ECU.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein said steps of said method are carried out on a computer processor integrated inside said ECU.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein said steps of said method are carried out on a computer processor installed on a hardware component physically coupled to said ECU.

31. The method of claim 26, further comprising limiting said rate of said forwarding of said data.

32. The method of claim 26, further comprising authenticating a party communicating using said intercepted message and conditioning said forwarding on said authenticating.

33. The method of claim 26, further comprising authenticating a party communicating using said intercepted message, using a challenge and response process, and conditioning said forwarding on said authenticating.

34. The method of claim 26, further comprising maintaining a plurality of party specific authentication statuses, periodically and automatically updating said party specific authentication statuses through an authentication process, and conditioning said forwarding on at least one of said authentication statuses.

35. The method of claim 26, further comprising requesting authentication by a party other than the ECU and the security system, of a party communicating using said intercepted message, and conditioning said forwarding on said authenticating.

36. The method of claim 26, further comprising authenticating a party other than all parties communicating using said intercepted message, and conditioning said forwarding on said authenticating.

37. The method of claim 26, further comprising signing said data prior to said forwarding.

38. The method of claim 26, further comprising verifying that said intercepted message bears a valid signature, and conditioning said forwarding on said verifying.

39. The method of claim 26, further comprising selecting said at least one rule amongst a plurality of predefined rules, according to at least one property of said intercepted message, and basing said determining on said at least one selected rule.

40. The method of claim 26, further comprising deriving statistics based on a logging of execution of said steps.