Apparatus and method for authentication of one or more powertrain components of an electric vessel

1 . A method of responding to detecting an error associated with one or more powertrain components of an electric vessel, the method comprising:

monitoring, by a vessel control unit (VCU), a control area network (CAN) bus for communication from the one or more powertrain components;

determining, by the VCU, whether there was a failure to receive during a particular interval, an authentication message from a first component of the one or more powertrain components of the electric vessel;

in response to determining that there was a failure to receive during the particular interval, the authentication message from the first component, performing, by the VCU, a first set of actions including indicating to a user that there is an error associated with the first component and disabling the electric vessel; and

in response to determining that there was not a failure to receive during the particular interval the authentication message from the first component, determining based on the authentication message, by the VCU, whether the first component is genuine and in response to determining that the first component is not genuine, indicating to the user, by the VCU, that the first component is not genuine.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining, by the VCU, whether there was a failure to receive during a particular interval, an authentication message from a first component of the one or more powertrain components of the electric vessel includes:

determining whether an error message was received by the VCU from a second component indicating that the second component failed to receive an authentication message from the first component.

3 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

in response to determining that there was a failure to receive during the particular interval the authentication message from the first component, creating within a log, by the VCU, an entry that indicates information associated with the determination that there was a failure to receive the authentication message during the particular interval.

4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

in response to determining, based on the authentication message, that the first component is not genuine, creating within a log, by the VCU, an entry that indicates information associated with the determination that the first component is not genuine.

5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

in response to determining, based on the authentication message, that the first component is not genuine, disabling, by the VCU, the electric vessel.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the authentication message is from a genuine component includes:

identifying, based on the authentication message, a first encryption key, a first cleartext message, and a first encrypted message; and

using the first encryption key to authenticate the first component based on the first cleartext message and the first encrypted message.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein using the first encryption key to authenticate the first component based on the first cleartext message and the first encrypted message includes:

using the first encryption key to encrypt the first cleartext message to generate a second encrypted message; and

determining whether the first encrypted message and the second encrypted message are identical.

8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein using the first encryption key to authenticate the first component based on the first cleartext message and the first encrypted message includes:

using the first encryption key to decrypt the first encrypted message to generate a second cleartext message; and

determining whether the first cleartext message and the second cleartext message are identical.

9 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the authentication message includes only a portion of the first cleartext message; and

wherein identifying, based on the authentication message, a first encryption key, a first cleartext message, and a first encrypted message includes:

reconstructing, using a shared encoding/decoding mechanism, the first cleartext message from the portion of the first cleartext message included in the authentication message.

10 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the authentication message includes only a portion of the first encrypted message; and

wherein identifying, based on the authentication message, a first encryption key, a first cleartext message, and a first encrypted message includes:

reconstructing, using a shared encoding/decoding mechanism, the first encrypted message from the portion of the first encrypted message included in the authentication message.

11 . The method of claim 6 further comprising:

selecting randomly, a second encryption key from a plurality of pre-shared keys stored in a local key store, the second encryption key being associated with a second encryption key index;

encrypting a second cleartext message to generate a third encrypted message;

selecting based on a shared encoding/decoding mechanism, a portion of the second cleartext message and a portion of the third encrypted message; and

transmitting a second authentication message including the second encryption key index, a portion of the second cleartext message, and a portion of the third encrypted message, to any other device among the one or more vessel powertrain components.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the authentication message includes an encryption key index, and wherein the encryption key index indicates one of a plurality of pre-shared encryption keys stored in a local key store.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more powertrain components includes at least one of one or more high voltage battery units, a power distribution unit, and an electric marine propulsion device.

14 . An apparatus for responding to detecting an error associated with one or more powertrain components of an electric vessel, the apparatus comprising:

a processor disposed in a first device of the electric vessel;

a memory storing computer program instruction that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the operations of:

monitoring, by a vessel control unit (VCU), a control area network (CAN) bus for communication from the one or more powertrain components;

determining, by the VCU, whether there was a failure to receive during a particular interval, an authentication message from a first component of the one or more powertrain components of the electric vessel; and

in response to determining that there was a failure to receive during the particular interval, the authentication message from the first component, performing a first set of actions including indicating to a user that there is an error associated with the first component and disabling the electric vessel; and

in response to determining that there was not a failure to receive during the particular interval the authentication message from the first component, determining based on the authentication message, by the VCU, whether the first component is genuine and in response to determining that the first component is not genuine, indicating to the user, by the VCU, that the first component is not genuine.

15 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein determining, by the VCU, whether there was a failure to receive during a particular interval, an authentication message from a first component of the one or more powertrain components of the electric vessel includes:

determining whether an error message was received by the VCU from a second component indicating that the second component failed to receive an authentication message from the first component.

16 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the computer program instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the operations of:

in response to determining that there was a failure to receive during the particular interval the authentication message from the first component, creating within a log, an entry that indicates information associated with the determination that there was a failure to receive the authentication message during the particular interval.

17 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer program instructions, that when executed cause a processor to perform computer operations comprising:

monitoring, by a vessel control unit (VCU), a control area network (CAN) bus for communication from one or more powertrain components of an electric vessel;

determining, by the VCU, whether there was a failure to receive during a particular interval, an authentication message from a first component of the one or more powertrain components of the electric vessel; and

in response to determining that there was a failure to receive during the particular interval, the authentication message from the first component, performing a first set of actions including indicating to a user that there is an error associated with the first component and disabling the electric vessel; and

in response to determining that there was not a failure to receive during the particular interval the authentication message from the first component, determining based on the authentication message, by the VCU, whether the first component is genuine and in response to determining that the first component is not genuine, indicating to the user, by the VCU, that the first component is not genuine.