Methods and apparatus for secure communication in a vehicle-based data communication system

1. A method for providing secure communication between a first module and a second module within a vehicle communication network:

providing, within the first module, a first anti-replay counter;

providing, within the second module, a second anti-replay counter;

transmitting, at a periodic rate, a message from the first module to the second module over the vehicle communication network, wherein the message includes a partial counter including only a portion of the contents of the first anti-replay counter;

authenticating the message at the second module based on the partial counter; and

periodically sending a counter sync message comprising the entire first anti-replay counter from the first module to the second module at a rate that is lower than a rate at which the message is sent from the first module to the second module.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the partial counter includes then least significant bits of the first anti-replay counter, wherein n is greater than four and less than seven.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein n is approximately 7 to 10 percent of the total length of the first anti-replay counter.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the partial counter includes the n least significant bits of the first anti-replay counter, and wherein authenticating the message based on the partial counter includes determining whether the partial counter is less than or equal to the n least significant bits of the second anti-replay counter.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein, when the partial counter is less than or equal to the n least significant bits of the second anti-replay counter, authenticating the message includes using a temporary counter constructed from a portion of the second anti-replay counter and a portion of the partial counter, and attempting to verify a message authentication code of the message based on the temporary counter.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein, when the partial counter is greater than the n least significant bits of the second anti-replay counter, authenticating the message includes using a temporary counter constructed from an incremented portion of the second anti-replay counter and a portion of the partial counter, and attempting to verify a message authentication code of the message based on the temporary counter.

7. The method of claim 1 , further including and using a tentative counter based on the counter sync message to authenticate the message until a predetermined number of successful authentications have taken place.

8. A secure communication system for a vehicle, comprising:

a first module having a first anti-replay counter, the first module configured to transmit, at a periodic rate, a message over a vehicle communication network;

a second module having a second anti-replay counter, the second module configured to receive the message over the vehicle communication network;

wherein the message includes a partial counter including only a portion of the contents of the first anti-replay counter; and the second module is configured to authenticate the message based on the partial counter;

wherein the first module periodically sends a counter sync message comprising the entire first anti-replay counter from the first module to the second module at a rate that is lower than a rate at which the message is sent from the first module to the second module.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the partial counter includes the n least significant bits of the first anti-replay counter, wherein n is greater than four and less than seven.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein n is approximately 7 to 10 percent of the total length of the first anti-replay counter.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the partial counter includes the n least significant bits of the first anti-replay counter, and wherein authenticating the message based on the partial counter includes determining whether the partial counter is less than or equal to the n least significant bits of the second anti-replay counter.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the second module uses a tentative counter based on the counter sync message to authenticate the message until a predetermined number of successful authentications have taken place.

13. A module for a vehicle comprising:

a processor;

a memory for storing machine-readable software instructions and a local anti-replay counter;

wherein the processor is configured to execute the machine-readable software instructions to perform the steps of:

receiving, at a periodic rate, a message over a communication network of the vehicle from a first external module, wherein the message includes a partial counter including only a portion of the contents of an authoritative anti-replay counter stored at the first external module;

authenticating the message based on the partial counter; and

periodically receiving a counter sync message from the first external module comprising the entire first authoritative anti-replay counter at a rate that is lower than a the periodic rate at which the message is received.

14. The module of claim 13 , wherein the partial counter includes the n least significant bits of the authoritative anti-replay counter, wherein n is greater than four and less than seven.

15. The module of claim 14 , wherein n is approximately 7 to 10 percent of the total length of the authoritative anti-replay counter.

16. The module of claim 13 , wherein the partial counter includes the n least significant bits of the authoritative anti-replay counter, and wherein authenticating the message based on the partial counter includes determining whether the partial counter is less than or equal to the n least significant bits of the local anti-replay counter.

17. The module of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to use a tentative counter based on the counter sync message to authenticate the message until a predetermined number of successful authentications have taken place.