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National
Challenges for PKI Systems
in Vehicles
Conventional solutions are not enough
Because of the special nature of the clients
(vehicles, charging infrastructure, traffic
signals etc) which – unlike the computers in
the company network – are not constantly
reachable and which to some extent have
much longer life cycles, they make specific
requirements of their PKI systems that do
not apply to most company PKIs. Similarly,
specifications for Car2Car communication or
Plug&Charge in the case of e-mobility define
precisely what a PKI is expected to do.
PKI systems have long been an established feature of inhouse
networks and the internet. Based on asymmetric cryptography,
authentication mechanisms have been created with
which more people work than you might imagine. Whether for
online banking, remote login to the corporate network from a
home office or even the new German national identity card, a
PKI working away in the background is generally responsible
for secure communication.
More recently, various applications requiring a PKI have been
introduced in vehicles:
- digital tachographs
- securing diagnostic access and information consistent
with Euro 5 and Euro 6
- securing onboard flashware for vehicle programming
- securing TeleX services such as remote diagnostics and
programming
- internet in the vehicle
- Car2Car communication
- Plug&Charge for e-mobility
For example, procedures and processes
must be introduced to take into account
the fact that parts of the PKI system may
be available for online communication only
on an intermittent basis. The distribution of
revocation information is just one example of
this problem. In a PKI for Car2Car or Car2X
communication, the number of subscribers can rise exponentially.
There will be hundreds of CA systems and millions of
vehicles all around the world that have to be supplied with key
material and certificates, and at the same time, data privacy
protection legislation will require that each vehicle is equipped
with several hundreds or even thousands of certificates.
Car manufacturers may already be aware of some of these
problems as a result of similar issues with their own company
PKIs for employee badges or SSL certificates for web
services. Nevertheless, these new special cases present them
with unprecedented challenges in the management of cryptographic
keys and certificates that cannot be resolved with the
already established processes of introduced PKI systems and
therefore require new approaches to the issue of PKI.
More information:
Andreas Ziska
andreas.ziska@secunet.com
10 » 1 | 2013