Abstract:
Intelligent transportation systems use radio beacons to broadcast infrastructure infor-
mation that is used for safe navigation. Authenticity and Integrity of such messages are
essential to ensure that recipients can safely make their safe navigational decisions. The
emerging area of Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) is one system as applied
to train communications. Trains rely on accurate and verified message broadcasts for vital
information such as status of tracks, switches, highway crossings, or broken rail detec-
tors, etc. This vital information allows trains to adjust speed and apply brakes ensuring
their safe navigation. The problem my dissertation addresses is that due to the minimal
bandwidth and the limited data integrity frames allocated to CBTC communications there
exists potential attack vectors such as message replay, forgery, and corruption attacks. The
aforementioned communication attack vectors will attempt at a minimum to disrupt com-
munications and in the worst case, derail locomotives by providing false status information
to the trains and underlying infrastructure. I address the attack vectors by introducing a
cryptographic schema to ensure that data integrity is maintained throughout the commu-
nications process. I enhance security by developing a custom software intrusion detection
system called RRIDS.
The combination of the cryptographic schema and RRIDS ensures that infrastructure
communication is maintained for the safety of emerging rail communication infrastructures.
My solution provides a prototype implementation that I experimentally validate. Addition-
ally, RRIDS is verified using attacker tests which validate its contribution by differentiating
and categorizing received radio signals from both legitimate and attacker radio sources as
well as an alert mechanism.
Methods developed in this dissertation can be extended for other forms of intelligent
transportation systems such as Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I), Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V),
etc., that are being advocated by the automobile community. This dissertation designs and
prototypes the cryptographic solution and the Intrusion Detection System (IDS) system
for CBTC systems. The effectiveness of the IDS system and the cryptographic schema is
experimentally validated.
