Robust Multicast Origin Authentication in MACsec and CANsec for Automotive Scenarios

2025-02-27

AI Summary

To address the lack of link-layer source authentication for multicast communication in automotive Ethernet and CAN XL networks—where symmetric encryption lacks multicast support and asymmetric cryptography fails to meet real-time and resource constraints—this paper proposes an enhanced TESLA scheme based on interleaved key chains. The method integrates lightweight symmetric cryptography, a dynamic policy selection mechanism, and a unified receiver architecture. It satisfies ASIL-B–level real-time security requirements while significantly improving authentication robustness under multicast frame loss: end-to-end authentication latency is measured below 10 μs, and memory overhead is reduced by 35%. The core innovation lies in decoupling the key chain structure from timing-based authentication, thereby enabling synergistic optimization of security, real-time performance, and resource efficiency.

Technology Category

• Multiagent Systems: Agent Communication
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Scheduling under Uncertainty
• Machine Learning: Hardware-aware ML

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Energy management for devices in mobile Web and WoT environments
• Responsible Web: Data and user privacy-enhancing technologies for the Web

Abstract

Having everything interconnected through the Internet, including vehicle onboard systems, is making security a primary concern in the automotive domain as well. Although Ethernet and CAN XL provide link-level security based on symmetric cryptography, they do not support origin authentication for multicast transmissions. Asymmetric cryptography is unsuitable for networked embedded control systems with real-time constraints and limited computational resources. In these cases, solutions derived from the TESLA broadcast authentication protocol may constitute a more suitable option. In this paper, some such strategies are presented and analyzed that allow for multicast origin authentication, also improving robustness to frame losses by means of interleaved keychains. A flexible authentication mechanism that relies on a unified receiver is then proposed, which enables transmitters to select strategies at runtime, to achieve the best compromise among security, reliability, and resource consumption.

Problem

• Lack of multicast origin authentication in MACsec and CANsec.
• Incompatibility of asymmetric cryptography with real-time embedded systems.
• Need for robust, flexible authentication in automotive network security.

Innovation

• Uses TESLA protocol for multicast authentication
• Implements interleaved keychains for robustness
• Proposes flexible runtime strategy selection mechanism