In addition to strengthening security, digital car keys can deliver greater owner conveniences including customizable usage privileges. Activities like car sharing, fleet management, and vehicle rental gain benefits such as easier key issuance, usage controls, and access for valeting and servicing.
STMicroelectronics’ new platform to accelerate the introduction of digital car keys gives consumers keyless access to vehicles via their mobile device. Based on the company’s most recent automotive-grade Secure Element hardware, the global solution supports the latest Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) Digital Key release 3.0 standard, ensuring the highest security and protection currently available.
The solution was developed in collaboration with Giesecke+Devrient, a German firm headquartered in Munich that provides banknote and securities printing, smart cards, and cash handling systems.
CCC Digital Key Standard
CCC’s Digital Key is a standardized technology that enables mobile devices to store, authenticate, and share digital keys for vehicles in a secure, privacy-preserving way. The CCC is dedicated to cross-industry collaboration in developing global standards and solutions for smartphone and in-vehicle connectivity.
The Board of Directors of CCC includes individuals from the Charter Member Companies Apple, BMW, General Motors, Google, Honda, Hyundai, LG, Mercedes-Benz AG, NXP, Panasonic, Samsung, and Volkswagen. The organization’s 100-plus members represent a large portion of the global automotive and smartphone market
Through the use of ultra-wideband (UWB) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity, the CCC Digital Key Release 3.0 adds capabilities to enable hands-free passive entry and engine start from a compatible mobile device. Unlike conventional keys or key fobs, there’s no need to pass anything physical to someone to utilize these features.
In-Vehicle SoC Details
The new system-on-chip solution combines ST’s secure element based on a certified ST33K-A secure IC and Java Card platform with the G+D Digital Key applet to provide secure car access.
The STSAFE-VJ100-CCC in-vehicle SoC is based on a CC EAL6+ certified, automotive-grade 2 ST33K-A secure IC, integrating Java Card applications. Java Card-based applets have been developed to store credentials, sensitive information, and perform cryptographic operations required to implement CCC Digital Key Rel.3 use cases like owner pairing, key sharing, and key termination/deletion.
The solution supports Java Card v3.0.5 classic edition with all of the mandatory features. It’s based on GlobalPlatform (version 2.3.0), supporting SCP03 (Amendment D) and SCP11a/c protocols (Amendment F), and Executable Load File Upgrade (Amendment H)
The interface defined is the SPI/GP "APDU over SPI/I2C" protocol, and the SoC includes an Operating System and Applets upgrade mechanism.
Able to generate a large field volume even with smallest antenna sizes, the Antenna Matching Tool for the ST25R NFC/HF reader family (part ST25R3914/15) offers an excellent user experience and interoperability. Automatic antenna tuning compensates for the metal environment.
ST also offers the STSW-ST25R004 software, which calculates the matching network for antennas connected to ST25R39xx/39xxB devices. It uses Qucs (Quite Universal Circuit Simulator) to simulate the antenna and the matching-network characteristics.
STSAFE-VJ100-CCC is integrated with “Digital Key” and “UWB Services” applications in compliance with the CCC Digital Key Release 3 specification and it can host STMicroelectronics applications for secure storage. The SoC is based on an Arm Cortex-M35P 32-bit microcontroller.
“Leading automotive brands can now quickly build standards-based, secure car-access solutions that deliver added value for vehicle owners and users,” said Laurent Degauque, Marketing Director, Secure Microcontrollers, STMicroelectronics. “Our solution based on an automotive-grade embedded secure element ensures state-of-the-art protection to lead widespread market adoption of digital keys for connected cars.”
“As a long-standing partner in security and connectivity for the automotive sector, G+D contributes a wealth of experience in the field of access control for cars”, added Mario Feuerer, Global Vice President Product Management Connectivity at G+D. “Our G+D Digital Key application, based on the new ST chip platform, is highly resistant to attacks and features smart and convenient customer access solutions based on NFC, ultra-wideband, and BLE.”