SECURING VEHICLE SERVICE TOOL DATA COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20150100197A1
• Filed: 10/04/2013
• Published: 04/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Peirce, Kenneth L., Ploucha, Joseph E., Hoxha, Ervin
• Granted Patent: US 9,179,311 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/31.5
• 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 9/3263 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: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security

Abstract

A system and method of securely communicating information between a vehicle and a central facility includes receiving at a vehicle diagnostic tool a challenge query from the vehicle; establishing a wireless connection between the vehicle diagnostic tool and a central facility; transmitting the challenge query from the vehicle diagnostic tool to the central facility via the wireless connection; receiving at the vehicle diagnostic tool a response to the challenge query via the wireless connection; and accessing one or more vehicle modules on the vehicle using the received response to the challenge query.

Claims

1. A method of securely communicating information between a vehicle and a central facility, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving at a vehicle diagnostic tool a challenge query from the vehicle;

(b) establishing a wireless connection between the vehicle diagnostic tool and a central facility;

(c) transmitting the challenge query from the vehicle diagnostic tool to the central facility via the wireless connection;

(d) receiving at the vehicle diagnostic tool a response to the challenge query via the wireless connection; and

(e) accessing one or more vehicle modules on the vehicle using the received response to the challenge query.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing the wireless connection using a separate wireless device.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising establishing the wireless connection using a smart phone.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle diagnostic tool includes a wireless transceiver.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the wireless transceiver is able to communicate with a wireless carrier system using a cellular protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the challenge query using a text message.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the challenge query or receiving the response using a compact X.509 certificate.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of creating the challenge query or response using an encrypted hash.

9. A method of securely communicating information between a vehicle and a central facility, comprising the steps of:

(a) communicatively linking a vehicle diagnostic tool with the vehicle;

(b) attempting to communicate with one or more vehicle modules located on the vehicle using the vehicle diagnostic tool;

(c) receiving at the vehicle diagnostic tool a challenge query sent from the vehicle;

(d) transmitting the challenge query using a separate wireless device to a central facility;

(e) receiving a response to the challenge query at the vehicle diagnostic tool from the separate wireless device; and

(f) accessing information from one or more vehicle modules using the vehicle diagnostic tool and the response to the challenge query.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the separate wireless device is a smart phone.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the vehicle diagnostic tool is communicatively linked to the separate wireless device via a wired connection.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the vehicle diagnostic tool is communicatively linked to the separate wireless device via a short-range wireless connection.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the challenge query is transmitted using a text message.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the challenge query is transmitted or the response is received using a compact X.509 certificate.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of creating the challenge query or response using an encrypted hash.

16. A system of securely communicating information between a vehicle and a central facility comprising:

a vehicle diagnostic tool that includes a processor, a memory device, and one or more communication ports for sending and receiving information between the vehicle and a separate wireless device capable of communicating via one or more cellular communication protocols, wherein the vehicle diagnostic tool communicates a challenge query and a response to the challenge query between the vehicle and a central facility.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more communication ports further comprise an RS 232 port or an RS 485 port.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more communication ports is a wireless transceiver.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the wireless transceiver establishes a short-range wireless link between the vehicle diagnostic tool and the separate wireless device.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the challenge query or the response are communicated between the vehicle and the central facility via a separate wireless device.