Knowledge Nov 15, 2024 Embracing the Future: Enhancing Security for Connected Vehicles - The Role of 3GPP Specification

As the demand for connected vehicles and advanced in-car experiences continues to rise, automotive manufacturers face the challenge of ensuring robust cybersecurity in an increasingly complex digital landscape. OEMs have invested in AI supercomputers and data centers to collect data from fleets and build models¹, enabling continuous improvements in the performance of deployed systems. This shift marks the evolution from early innovations, such as the safety belt in 1957, to today’s data-driven advancements. Recognizing this need for enhanced security, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) released TS 33.536, a comprehensive specification that addresses the security aspects of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) services in the 5G ecosystem. This specification is particularly significant as it supports the transition toward software-defined vehicles and AI-driven services, ensuring that automotive innovations remain both advanced and secure.

The 3GPP TS 33.536² specification focuses on securing communications between vehicles and the surrounding infrastructure. It covers V2X services, which facilitate communication between vehicles, infrastructure, and other devices using the 5G system. The specification outlines security requirements for different communication interfaces, such as the NR-based PC5 (direct communication between devices) and the Uu (vehicle-to-network) reference points. It provides a framework for encryption, integrity protection, and secure key establishment processes to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of data transmitted over these interfaces.

1. Securing Direct Communication (PC5 Interface): The specification details the measures required to secure the PC5 interface, which is essential for direct communication between vehicles (V2V), as well as between vehicles and roadside units (V2I). This includes encryption of messages using keys like NRPEK (encryption key) and NRPIK (integrity key) to protect data from being intercepted or tampered with.
2. Identity Privacy: 3GPP TS 33.536 addresses the need for privacy in vehicle communications by implementing mechanisms to prevent tracking and identity linking. This is critical to protect drivers from potential cyber threats that exploit identity data, especially in scenarios where vehicles frequently communicate with the surrounding environment.
3. Cross-Radio Access Technology (RAT) Security: The specification ensures secure communication across different network technologies (e.g., LTE and 5G), providing a seamless and secure transition between network types for vehicles on the move.
4. Robust Key Management: The document outlines procedures for key establishment and rekeying to ensure that secure sessions remain resilient against potential attacks. This is particularly important for maintaining the integrity of over-the-air (OTA) updates, which are crucial for delivering new software features and patches to vehicles.