ACCESS RESTRICTION DEVICE, ON-BOARD COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATION RESTRICTION

• US 20150358329A1
• Filed: 01/17/2014
• Published: 12/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Autonetworks Technologies, Ltd. (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Autonetworks Technologies, Ltd. (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: NODA, Tetsuya, HORIHATA, Satoshi, OKADA, Hiroshi, ADACHI, Naoki
• Granted Patent: US 10,027,672 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2113 Multi-level security, e.g. mandatory access control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/082 using revocation of authorisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

An access restriction device as well as an on-board communication system and a method for communication restriction, which prevent outside leakage of information caused by unauthorized access of malicious programs to an in-car network. The communication between the in-car network of the vehicle and an external device is performed by a security controller. The security controller can perform addition or update of a program involving processing for transmission and reception of the information. The security controller performs processing for restricting access to information of the in-car network performed by program execution according to an access authorization level of each program and an access permission level of each type of information. The security controller restricts the transmission depending on the access authorization level of each program and the access permission level of each type of information in case of transmitting the information to the in-car network by the program execution.

Claims

1. An access restriction device to be installed in a vehicle,

the access restriction device comprising:

a first communication unit which communicates with an on-board device by way of an in-car network arranged in the vehicle;

a second communication unit which communicates with an external device;

a program storage unit storing a program which performs processing concerning information to be transmitted and received with the first communication unit and/or processing concerning information to be transmitted and received with the second communication unit;

a processor which executes one or a plurality of programs stored in the program storage unit and performs processing including;

a program addition/update means which performs addition or update of a program to be executed by the processor by communicating between the second communication unit and the external device;

a first determination means which determines, for each program, a level of access authorization with respect to information received with the first communication unit;

a second determination means which determines, for each type of information received with the first communication unit, a level of access authorization for permission to access the information received with the first communication unit; and

an access restriction means which restricts access to the information, depending on the level of access authorization of the program determined by the first determination means and the level of access authorization for the information determined by the second determination means, when an access request is made for the information received by the first communication unit in the processing performed by the processor when executing the program.

2. The access restriction device according to claim 1, wherein the access restriction means restricts information transmission from the first communication unit to the on-board device, depending on the level of access authorization of the program determined by the first determination means and the level of access authorization for the information determined by the second determination means, when a request to transmit information from the first communication unit to the in-car network is made in the processing performed by the processor when executing the program.

3. The access restriction device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a position information acquisition means which acquires position information of the vehicle;

a position determination means, which determines whether or not the position of the vehicle according to the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means is a predetermined position or within a predetermined position region; and

a program addition/update restriction means, which restricts the addition or update of the program performed by the program addition/update means depending on a determination result of the position determination means.

4. The access restriction device according to claim 3, wherein the program addition/update restriction means restricts the addition or update of the program performed by the program addition/update means depending on the access authorization level of the program and the determination result of the position determination means.

5. The access restriction device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a vehicle information acquisition means which acquires information regarding the vehicle;

wherein the program addition/update restriction means restricts the addition or update of the program performed by the program addition/update means depending on the information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means.

6. The access restriction device according to claim 5, further comprising:

a vehicle stopping determination means, which determines whether or not the vehicle is in a stopped state, depending on the information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means;

wherein the program addition/update restriction means restricts the addition or update of the program performed by the program addition/update means if the vehicle stopping determination means determines that the vehicle is not in the stopped state.

7. The access restriction device according to claim 5, wherein the information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means is velocity information of the vehicle and/or information indicating an operation state of a motor of the vehicle.

8. The access restriction device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an access authorization level information storage unit, which stores access authorization level information in which distributors of program are associated with levels of access authorization;

wherein the first determination means determines the level of access authorization of the program on the basis of the access authorization level information stored in the access authorization level information storage unit.

9. The access restriction device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a blocking means which blocks the information transmission when the amount of information transmitted from the first communication unit to the in-car network surpasses a predetermined amount in the processing performed by the processor when executing the program.

10. The access restriction device according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined amount is an amount determined according to the level of access authorization of the program.

11. The access restriction device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a log information generation means which, if the access restriction means restricts the access to information, generates log information regarding this access restriction; and

a log information storage unit, which stores the log information generated by the log information generation means.

12. An on-board communication system comprising

one or more on-board devices, and

an access restriction device connected to the one or more onboard devices by way of an in-car network, the access restriction device includes:

a first communication unit which communicates with an on-board device by way of an in-car network arranged in the vehicle;

a second communication unit which communicates with an external device;

a program storage unit storing a program which performs processing concerning information to be transmitted and received with the first communication unit and/or processing concerning information to be transmitted and received with the second communication unit;

a processor which executes one or a plurality of programs stored in the program storage unit and performs processing including;

a program addition/update means which performs addition or update of a program to be executed by the processor by means of communication of the second communication unit with the external device;

a first determination means which determines, for each program, a level of access authorization with respect to information received with the first communication unit;

a second determination means which determines, for each type of information received with the first communication unit, a level of access authorization for permission to access the information received with the first communication unit; and

an access restriction means which restricts access to the information, depending on the level of access authorization of the program determined by the first determination means and the level of access authorization for the information determined by the second determination means, when an access request is made for the information received by the first communication unit in the processing performed by the processor when executing the program; and

wherein the on-board device is configured to communicate with the external device by way of the access restriction device.

13. A communication restriction method utilizing an access restriction device to be installed in a vehicle, the access restriction device comprising:

(i) a first communication unit which communicates with an on-board device by way of an in-car network arranged in the vehicle;

(ii) a second communication unit which communicates with an external device;

(iii) a program storage unit storing a program which performs processing concerning information to be transmitted and received with the first communication unit and/or processing concerning information to be transmitted and received with the second communication unit;

(iv) a processor which executes one or a plurality of programs stored in the program storage unit and performs processing;

(v) a program addition/update means which performs addition or update of a program to be executed by the processor by communicating between the second communication unit the external device;

the communication restriction method restricting the communication of the on-board device and the external device by utilizing the access restriction device;

the communication restriction method comprising;

a first determination step of determining, for each program, a level of access authorization for information received with the first communication unit;

a second determination step of determining, for each type of information received in the first communication unit, a level of access authorization for permission to access information received with the first communication unit; and

an access restriction step of restricting access to the information, depending on the level of access authorization of the program determined in the first determination step and the level of access authorization for the information determined in the second determination step, when an access request is made for the information received by the first communication unit in the processing performed by the processor when executing the program.