An intelligent key management solution for railway operations

摘要

The introduction of ETCS Level 2 (European Train Control System) into European railway operations is progressing. Large railway operators and increasingly even smaller ones are using symmetric cryptograhic methods to secure radio-based communication between infrastructure and rolling-stock. The underlying cryptograhic management for managing and distributing crypto keys is a prerequisite for the interoperability of the systems and has therefore been standardised across Europe. Currently, the keys are distributed manually (offline). The increasing use of ETCS Level 2 (L2) requires automated (online) key distribution procedures. A powerful, application-based key management centre (KMC) for ETCS is subject to both the fulfilment of the technical requirements according to standardisation and a number of further operative requirements. This article provides an overview and outlines the key management solution from Thales Deutschland.