Method for exchanging messages and verifying the authenticity of the messages in an ad hoc network

• US 7,934,095 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2007
• Issued: 04/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois, Toyota Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Hu, Yih-Chun, Laberteaux, Kenneth P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Ellen
• Application Number:
  US11/936,509
• Publication Number:
  US 20080235509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• Field of Search: 713/156, 713/158, 713/169, 380/270, 380/282, 380/283
• US Class Current: 713/169
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/006 involving public key infrastructure [PKI] trust models network architecture or network communication protocol for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• 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 9/50 using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/106 Packet or message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A method for exchanging messages containing reliable information between nodes in an ad hoc network, such as a vehicle ad hoc network. The method includes the steps of providing a public key for a PKI encrypted certificate authority signature to all nodes known to transmit reliable information. Each node transmits a signal containing node identification information and the PKI encrypted certificate authority signature associated with that node. Each node also receives like signals from other nodes and then decrypts the certificate authority signatures from the received signals by using the certificate authority public key to ascertain the authenticity of the received certificate authority signatures and the reliability of the received message. Thereafter, the nodes receive and accept messages with a TESLA encrypted signature only with nodes identified to have authentic certificate authority signatures until the occurrence of a subsequent predefined event, such as a new node in the network or the elapse of a predetermined time period.

Claims

1. A method for exchanging messages containing reliable information between nodes in a vehicle ad hoc network comprising the steps of:

(a) initially providing a public key from a certificate authority for a PKI encrypted certificate authority signature to all nodes in the vehicle ad hoc network,

(b) providing a private key from the certificate authority for a PKI encrypted certificate authority signature to all nodes known to transmit reliable information,

(c) each node transmitting a signal containing node identification information and the PKI encrypted certificate authority signature associated with that node,

(d) each node receiving said signals from the other nodes,

(e) each node decrypting the certificate authority signatures received from the other nodes by using the public key to ascertain the authenticity of the received certificate authority signatures,

(f) thereafter said nodes receiving and authenticating messages with a timed efficient stream loss tolerant authentication encrypted signature only with nodes identified to have an authentic certificate authority signature until the occurrence of a subsequent predefined event,

said certificate authority revoking the public key for any node identified as transmitting improper messages so that all subsequent timed efficient stream loss tolerant messages transmitted by said node transmitting improper messages are ignored by other nodes in the vehicle ad hoc network.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said subsequent event comprises a new node joining the ad hoc network.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said subsequent event comprises the elapse of a predetermined time period from step (c).

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said subsequent event comprises the elapse of a predetermined time period from step (c) and a new node joining the ad hoc network.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 and comprising the steps of repeating step (c) through step (f) after the occurrence of said predefined event.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1 and comprising the step of releasing the authenticity of the timed efficient stream loss tolerant authentication signature within a predefined time period following said receiving and accepting a message with the timed efficient stream loss tolerant authentication encrypted signature.

7. The invention as defined in claim 1 and further comprising the step of time synchronizing a clock to a transmission from a global positioning system to messages with timed efficient stream loss tolerant authentication encrypted signatures.

8. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said transmitting step comprises the step of transmitting a radio signal.

9. A method for exchanging messages in a vehicle ad hoc network containing reliable information between nodes in an ad hoc network in which each node is provided with a public key for a PKI encrypted certificate authority signature and in which each node known to transmit reliable information is provided with a private key PKI encrypted certificate authority signature, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) each node transmitting a signal containing node identification information and the PKI encrypted certificate authority signature associated with that node using a private key provided by a certificate authority,

(b) each node receiving said signals from the other nodes,

(c) each node decrypting the certificate authority signatures received from the other nodes by using the public key assigned by the certificate authority to ascertain the authenticity of the received certificate authority signatures,

(d) thereafter said nodes receiving and authenticating messages with a timed efficient stream loss tolerant authentication encrypted signature only with nodes identified to have an authentic certificate authority signature until the occurrence of a subsequent predefined event,

said certificate authority revoking the public key for any node identified as transmitting improper messages so that all subsequent timed efficient stream loss tolerant messages transmitted by said node transmitting improper messages are ignored by other nodes in the vehicle ad hoc network.

10. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said subsequent event comprises a new node joining the ad hoc network.

11. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said subsequent event comprises the elapse of a predetermined time period from step (a).

12. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said subsequent event comprises the elapse of a predetermined time period from step (c) and a new node joining the ad hoc network.

13. The invention as defined in claim 9 and comprising the steps of repeating step (c) through step (i) after the occurrence of said predefined event.

14. The invention as defined in claim 9 and comprising the step of releasing the authenticity of the timed efficient stream loss tolerant authentication signature within a predefined time period following said receiving and accepting a message with the timed efficient stream loss tolerant authentication encrypted signature.

15. The invention as defined in claim 9 and further comprising the step of time synchronizing a clock to a transmission from a global positioning system to messages with timed efficient stream loss tolerant authentication encrypted signatures.

16. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said transmitting step comprises the step of transmitting a radio signal.

17. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said message contains information regarding the status of the node.