Designing Wireless Automotive Keys with Rights Sharing Capabilities on the MSP430 Microcontroller

We explore the ultra-low-power microcontroller MSP430 from Texas Instruments as potential platform for developing vehicle keys. Radio frequency (RF) keys are still a relevant research subject as they are a common target for adversaries while automotive manufacturers show an increased interest in adding new functionalities to traditional keys while keeping them inexpensive. MSP430 is a low-cost, ultra-low-power, 16-bit capable microcontroller which can handle some cryptographic primitives that can be further used for designing secure authentication protocols. In this work we do explore the design and implementation options for a protocol that can be deployed in a car-sharing scenario where multiple users can share or gain access rights to the same vehicle. Due to inherent constraints of our platform, we keep the protocol simple and rely on inexpensive symmetric key primitives while still providing advanced options, e.g., rights sharing capabilities.

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