Enhancing the Confidentiality and Integrity of Automotive Ethernet Data Using MACsec
Abstract
As modern vehicles increasingly rely on Ethernet for critical communication, making sure data security against unauthorized access and tampering is imperative. The automotive industry is evolving to meet the growing cybersecurity demands driven by advanced electronic systems and connectivity features. MACsec (Media Access Control Security) provides robust security through encryption and integrity checks, protecting data transmitted over automotive Ethernet networks.
As data transmission speeds and bandwidth requirements in vehicles increase, traditional security measures become insufficient. MACsec addresses these challenges by preventing eavesdropping, replay attacks, and unauthorized device access, thereby enhancing vehicular communication security and contributing to a safer driving experience.
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1 Introduction to MACsec
Media Access Control Security (MACsec) makes sure the protection of data exchanged between Ethernet-connected devices. Defined by the IEEE standard 802.1AE, MACsec allows authorized systems that attach to and interconnect LANs in a network to maintain confidentiality of transmitted data and to take measures against frames transmitted or modified by unauthorized devices.
MACsec operates at layer 2 of the OSI model, the data link layer. Data gets packaged from the previously unstructured data into frames and at the data link layer the format of the data is defined.
Figure 1-1 OSI Networking StackBefore MACsec, security protocols like SSL and TLS were widely used, but they operated at the software layer, creating challenges. These protocols required significant CPU and memory resources from the SoC, potentially slowing down performance.
When MACsec is enabled, a bi-directional secure link is established after an exchange and verification of security keys between the two connected devices. A combination of data integrity checks and encryption is used to safeguard the transmitted data.
The sending device attaches a unique MACsec header to all Ethernet frames to be sent, and encrypts the data payload within the frame. The receiving device checks the header and tail for integrity. If the check fails, the traffic is dropped. On a successful check, the frame is decrypted.
