Secure Identities
Secure identities in V2X communication istock/ LordRunar

Identity Management

Communication between vehicles (Vehicle-2-X Communication – V2X) forms the basis for future-orientated solutions to increase safety and efficiency on the road. By means of secure exchange of information messages, crucial information such as warnings of an approaching emergency vehicle or dangerous situations on the road can be communicated to the driver in good time. On the one hand, secure authentication of vehicles in traffic plays a crucial role in V2X communication in order to prevent any external misuse. On the other hand, anonymised approaches need to ensure that driver and car cannot be monitored. Sustainable business models for V2X communication can only be developed on the basis of trust in the technology and secure identities.

To safely operate these innovative driver assistance functions, new concepts and methods for the use of secure identities in cars are required. Functions such as authentication, authorisation, invoicing and auditing – the latter stands for examination in the technical terminology – go hand in hand with secure identification. These functions create the necessary trust in the data that is to be communicated and enable clearly identifiable communication relations.

Fraunhofer FOKUS is working on V2X-related security and privacy mechanisms based on cryptographic algorithms and promotes specification and standardization of V2X communication related security mechanisms in the context of ETSI and C2C-CC.