Internal certificate authority for electronic control unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024073037-A1
Application number	US-202217899722-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 31, 2022
Priority date	Aug 31, 2022
Publication date	Feb 29, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

An example operation includes providing by a first electronic control unit (ECU) a fixed private key of a vehicle to a server; generating by the first ECU a limited life certificate based on the fixed private key, wherein the first ECU acts as a certificate authority; and providing the limited life certificate to a second ECU within the vehicle to allow the second ECU to securely communicate with the server.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method, comprising:
providing by a first electronic control unit (ECU) a fixed private key of a vehicle to a server; generating by the first ECU a limited life certificate based on the fixed private key, wherein the first ECU acts as a certificate authority; and providing the limited life certificate to a second ECU within the vehicle to allow the second ECU to securely communicate with the server.

2 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
configuring the first ECU with a first public/private key pair including the fixed private key; configuring the second ECU with a second public/private key pair; establishing a secure communications link between the first ECU and the second ECU using the first and second public/private key pairs; and requesting, by the second ECU over the secure communications link, the limited life certificate from the first ECU.

3 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
requesting, by the second ECU, the limited life certificate from the first ECU, wherein the requesting includes a health status of the second ECU; wherein the providing of the limited life certificate comprises providing a fully functional certificate when the health status indicates that the second ECU is up to date; and wherein the providing of the limited life certificate comprises providing a remediation certificate for establishing access to an updating service from the second ECU when the health status indicates that the second ECU is not up to date.

4 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
requesting, by the second ECU, the limited life certificate from the first ECU, the requesting including a first identifier for identifying the second ECU; providing, by the first ECU, a second identifier for identifying the first ECU, with the provided lifetime life certificate; sending, by the second ECU, the provided limited life certificate to the server; and associating the first identifier with the vehicle, by the server, using the second identifier.

5 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
associating the second ECU with at least one component of the vehicle; determining, by the server, that a first identifier for identifying the second ECU is associated with the vehicle and another vehicle; acquiring a first state of health from the second ECU at the vehicle; acquiring a second state of health from the second ECU at the another vehicle; and comparing, by the server, the first state of health to the second state of health, to determine a life cycle stage for the at least one component.

6 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
communicatively coupling a third ECU to the first ECU; receiving a request from the third ECU, by the first ECU, for a limited life certificate; authorizing the first ECU to send the limited life certificate to the third ECU; and sending, by the first ECU, the limited life certificate to the third ECU.

7 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
indicating a third ECU has been installed in the vehicle; determining, by the server, whether or not the third ECU is the first ECU; when the third ECU is the first ECU, providing, by the server, a remediation certificate to the third ECU, the remediation certificate providing access to a service configured for updating the first ECU; when the third ECU is not the first ECU, sending a request for the limited life certificate from the third ECU to the first ECU; wherein the first ECU transmits a first message to the server indicating that a validation is required in order for the first ECU to send the limited life certificate to the third ECU; and wherein the first ECU receives a second message from the server validating the request.

8 . A system, comprising:
a processor; and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are communicably coupled, wherein the processor: provides, by a first electronic control unit (ECU), a fixed private key of a vehicle to a server; generates, by the first ECU, a limited life certificate based on the fixed private key, wherein the first ECU acts as a certificate authority; and provides the limited life certificate to a second ECU within the vehicle to allow the second ECU to securely communicate with the server.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor:
configures the first ECU with a first public/private key pair that includes the fixed private key; configures the second ECU with a second public/private key pair; establishes a secure communications link between the first ECU and the second ECU that uses the first and second public/private key pairs; and requests, by the second ECU over the secure communications link, the limited life certificate from the first ECU.

10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor:
requests, by the second ECU, the limited life certificate from the first ECU, wherein the request includes a health status of the second ECU; wherein the provides the limited life certificate comprises provides a fully functional certificate when the health status indicates that the second ECU is up to date; and wherein the provides the limited life certificate comprises provides a remediation certificate to establish access to an update service from the second ECU when the health status indicates that the second ECU is not up to date.

11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor:
requests, by the second ECU, the limited life certificate from the first ECU, wherein the request includes a first identifier that identifies the second ECU; provides, by the first ECU, a second identifier that identifies the first ECU, with the provided limited life certificate; sends, by the second ECU, the provided limited life certificate to the server; and uses, by the server, the second identifier, to associate the first identifier with the vehicle.

12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor:
associates the second ECU with at least one component of the vehicle; determines, by the server, that a first identifier which identifies the second ECU is associated with the vehicle and another vehicle; acquires a first state of health from the second ECU at the vehicle; acquires a second state of health from the second ECU at the another vehicle; and compares, by the server, the first state of health to the second state of health, to determine a life cycle stage for the at least one component.

13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor:
communicatively couples a third ECU to the first ECU; receives a request from the third ECU, by the first ECU, for a limited life certificate; authorizes the first ECU to send the limited life certificate to the third ECU; and sends, by the first ECU, the limited life certificate to the third ECU.

14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor:
indicates that a third ECU has been installed in the vehicle; determines, by the server, whether or not the third ECU is the first ECU; when the third ECU is the first ECU, provides, by the server, a remediation certificate to the third ECU, wherein the remediation certificate provides access to a service configured to update the first ECU; when the third ECU is not the first ECU, sends a request for the limited life certificate from the third ECU to the first ECU; wherein the first ECU transmits a first message to the server that indicates a validation is required in order for the first ECU to send the limited life certificate to the third ECU; and wherein the first ECU receives a second message from the server that validates the request.

15 . A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructi

Assignees

• Toyota Motor North America Inc
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Mcfarland Jr Stephen Paul
• Klausner Mark R

Classifications

• H04L2209/84

  Vehicles · CPC title

• B60R16/0232

  for measuring vehicle parameters and indicating critical, abnormal or dangerous conditions · CPC title

• H04L9/50 Primary

  using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees · CPC title

• H04L9/3263

  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 title

• H04L9/0891 Primary

  Revocation or update of secret information, e.g. encryption key update or rekeying · CPC title