Securely providing diagnostic data from a vehicle to a remote server using a diagnostic tool

• US 9,619,946 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2014
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Huang, Stephan, Nairn, David M., K, Muralikrishnan
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Rodney
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRUSHABER, FREDERICK M
• Application Number:
  US14/445,821
• Publication Number:
  US 20160035148A1
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• Field of Search: 701 314
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2205/02 using a vehicle scan tool
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0866 involving user or device identifiers, e.g. serial number, physical or biometrical information, DNA, hand-signature or measurable physical characteristics

Abstract

A communication system in a vehicle is described and various methods for securely providing diagnostic data between a vehicle and a remote server using a vehicle diagnostic tool. The method may include the steps of: receiving at the remote from the diagnostic tool both a challenge question and encrypted data acquired by the diagnostic tool from a vehicle electronic control unit; using the challenge question to determine how to decrypt the encrypted data; and decrypting the encrypted data at the remote server.

Claims

1. A method of securely providing diagnostic data between a vehicle and a remote server using a vehicle diagnostic tool (VDT), comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving at the remote server from the VDT both a challenge question and data encrypted by a vehicle electronic control unit (ECU) using an encryption key, wherein the VDT receives the encrypted data from the vehicle ECU;

(b) using the challenge question to determine how to decrypt the encrypted data; and

(c) decrypting the encrypted data at the remote server using the encryption key.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the acquisition by the VDT in step (a) includes:

(a1) receiving the challenge question during a VDT-ECU connection by sending a first request from the VDT to the ECU;

(a2) receiving the encrypted data during the VDT-ECU connection by sending a second request from the VDT to the ECU.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, in response to receiving the first request, the ECU derives the challenge question.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the derivation of the challenge question includes using at least one of:

an encryption key, a password, a passphrase, a function, a salt, a unique identifier, a hash, or a randomly generated number.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein, in response to receiving the second request, the ECU encrypts previously logged data.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the encrypted data is encrypted by ECU using a key stored at the ECU.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) further comprises identifying the vehicle, the ECU, or both based on the challenge question.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, based on the identification, determining a key to decrypt the encrypted data in step (c).

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the key used to decrypt the encrypted data is symmetric to a key used in the ECU to encrypt the encrypted data.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(d) analyzing the previously encrypted data.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

(e) performing steps (a)-(d) for a plurality of other vehicles;

(f) analyzing at the remote server the previously encrypted data received from the plurality of other vehicles; and

(g) using the data of steps (d) and (f), determining diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs).

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote server is associated with a vehicle call center.

13. A method of securely providing diagnostic data between a vehicle and a remote server using a vehicle diagnostic tool (VDT), comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving from the VDT at a vehicle electronic control unit (ECU) a request for a challenge question associated with providing previously logged data

(b) deriving at the ECU the challenge question;

(c) providing from the ECU to the VDT the challenge question for storage at the VDT until the VDT can provide the challenge question to the remote server at a first later time;

(d) receiving from the VDT a request for the previously logged data stored in memory of the ECU;

(e) encrypting the logged data using an encryption key; and

(f) providing from the ECU to the VDT the encrypted data for storage at the VDT until the VDT can provide the encrypted data to the remote server at a second later time when the remote server can use the challenge question to derive information to decrypt the encrypted data.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first later time approximates the second later time.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

(g) analyzing at the remote server the decrypted data.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

(g) similarly decrypting data received from a plurality of other vehicles;

(h) analyzing at the remote server the data decrypted in steps (f) and (g); and

(h) using the decrypted data of step (h) to determine diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) among the vehicle and the plurality of other vehicles.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the remote server is associated with a vehicle call center.