Granted Patent B2

US 12,438,706 · App. 18/191,432 · Granted Oct 7, 2025

Inventors: Andreas Furch (Freising, DE); Hans Aschauer (Munich, DE); Fabrizio De Santis (Munich, DE); Rainer Falk (Poing, DE); Malek Safieh (Bayern, DE); Daniel Schneider (Munich, DE); Florian Wilde (Munich, DE); Thomas Zeschg (Munich, DE)

Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

H04L9/0852H04L9/3215H04L9/3265H04L9/3268H04L63/0823

Abstract

Claims (40)

1. A method for onboarding an Internet of Things (IoT) device of a manufacturer in an infrastructure of a customer using a first server of a manufacturer domain and a second server of a customer domain, the method comprising:

a) setting up an authenticated and encrypted first communication channel between the first server and the second server, comprising deriving a session key common to the first server and the second server;

b) providing an authenticated and encrypted second communication channel between the IoT device and the second server, comprising deriving a second session key common to the second server and the IoT device;

c) setting up an authenticated and encrypted third communication channel running via the second server between the IoT device and the first server, and assigning a third key common to the IoT device and the first server;

d) forming permission information using the IoT device;

e) cryptographically protecting the formed permission information using the third key;

f) transmitting the cryptographically protected permission information from the IoT device to the second server via the second communication channel;

g) transmitting the cryptographically protected permission information from the second server to the first server via the first communication channel;

h) decrypting the cryptographically protected permission information transmitted from the second server to the first server by way of the first server using the third key;

i) encrypting the decrypted permission information using the first server and the first session key;

j) transmitting the permission information encrypted with the first session key from the first server to the second server via the first communication channel;

k) decrypting the permission information encrypted with the first session key using the second server;

l) sending a request to obtain a device certificate associated with the IoT device of the customer domain from the second server to a certificate authority;

m) transmitting the obtained device certificate and the permission information decrypted by the second server from the second server to the IoT device via the second communication channel; and

n) accepting the device certificate transmitted by the second server using the IoT device if the permission information transmitted by the second server matches the formed permission information.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the authenticated and encrypted first communication channel and/or the authenticated and encrypted second communication channel is cryptographically protected by means of a KEM method.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the KEM method used comprises KEMTLS.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

the authenticated and encrypted third communication channel is rendered as a direct communication channel between the IoT device and the first server; or

the authenticated and encrypted third communication channel is rendered as a tunnelled communication channel by tunnelling via the authenticated and encrypted first communication channel and the authenticated and encrypted second communication channel.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

before a) is performed, the first server is equipped with a root certificate of the manufacturer domain, a root certificate of the customer domain, and a user certificate of the manufacturer domain for the first server, including a public key of the first server, and a private key of the first server;

before a) is performed, the second server is equipped with the root certificate of the manufacturer domain, the root certificate of the customer domain, a user certificate of the customer domain for the second server, including a public key of the second server in the customer domain, and with a private key of the second server; and

before b) is performed, the IoT device is equipped with the root certificate of the manufacturer domain, with a user certificate of the manufacturer domain for the IoT device, including a public key of the IoT device in the manufacturer domain, and with a private key of the IoT device.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

the first session key is known to the first server and the second server and is unknown to the IoT device;

the second session key is known to the second server and the IoT device and is unknown to the first server; and/or

the third session key is known to the first server and the IoT device and is unknown to the second server.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein d) comprises forming a random number or a quasi-random number by the IoT device as permission information.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein m) is rendered by transmitting the obtained device certificate together with the permission information from the second server to the IoT device via the second communication channel within a single session, the permission information being transmitted from the second server to the IoT device via the second communication channel as part of a certificate extension of the device certificate.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cryptographically protected permission information transmitted in f) and g) is rendered as a KEM-protected protocol message.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the authenticated and encrypted second communication channel is terminated or invalidated after m).

11. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the IoT device uses the formed permission information as a basis for permitting precisely one set of configuration data comprising the device certificate to be loaded.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first server, the second server, and the IoT device are each equipped with a KEM-based protocol stack, the KEM-based protocol stack of the IoT device additionally equipped with suitability for Provisional Accept, and the KEM-based protocol stack being set up to implement KEMTLS or KEMTLS-PDK.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein c) is rendered by setting up the authenticated and encrypted third communication channel running via the second server between the IoT device and the first server, comprising deriving a third session key that is common to the IoT device and the first server.

14. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, before c) is performed, a device-individual PIN is securely stored in each of the first server and the IoT device, the PIN used to set up the authenticated and encrypted third communication channel running via the second server.

15. A system for onboarding an IoT device of a manufacturer in an infrastructure of a customer, the system comprising:

a first server of a manufacturer domain; and

a second server of a customer domain;

wherein the first server, the second server, and the IoT device are set up to perform the method as claimed in claim 1 .

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (21)