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

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9619946-B2
Application number	US-201414445821-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 29, 2014
Priority date	Jul 29, 2014
Publication date	Apr 11, 2017
Grant date	Apr 11, 2017

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.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

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.

Assignees

• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Huang Stephan
• Nairn David M
• K Muralikrishnan

Classifications

• H04L2209/84

  Vehicles · CPC title

• G07C5/008 Primary

  communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C) · CPC title

• G07C2205/02

  using a vehicle scan tool · CPC title

• H04L9/0866

  involving user or device identifiers, e.g. serial number, physical or biometrical information, DNA, hand-signature or measurable physical characteristics · CPC title