Apr 11, 20224 min read

Encryption - Is Your Vehicle Logger Data Encrypted?

In this article, we will discuss this excellent new feature that the data logger from our ReXgen series supports, “encryption.” Not only is the newly transformed ReXgen series configured to send your data to the cloud, but it is also engineered to keep it secure. It not only encrypts your data logs, but it can also lock your device. The all-new ReXgen devices can encrypt the data logs using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and uses RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) data security for locking your device (i.e., the logger itself). Both the standards are well known in security and are also considered the safest cryptographic standards for encryption worldwide. But before we go deep into understanding these security algorithms, it’s better to know the basics.

What is Encryption?

Encryption, in general terms, refers to the process of converting readable information into content that is unreadable. Hence making it useless for the one who does not know how to decrypt it. This whole procedure involves the usage of keys (public keys, private keys, encryption keys, etc.) that enable these encryptions. The human-readable information is converted into ciphertext, codes etc., using a potential key or keys. The data can only be reconverted into a readable form using those decryption key(s), making data more secure and safe from possible hackers during transmission. Only the one who has access to the correct key(s) can decode the coded data and make sense of it.

Encryption, in general, is of two basic types:

Asymmetric: where a pair of private and public keys are used to encode and decode the data (RSA).

Symmetric: where one single private key is used to cipher and decipher the data (AES).

RSA: The standard that ReXgen loggers use to encrypt your device is an asymmetric encryption method that uses public and private keys. This is one of the oldest (1978) and still is the most secure system. The Algorithm used in this encryption is a mathematical formula that ensures that the keys used are as secure as possible. The two generated keys are different but mathematically linked keys as the key generation relies on the computational difficulty of factoring the product of two large prime integers. The sender encrypts the data using a public key, and the receiver can only decode it if they possess the private key linked to that key only.

This whole process consists of basic four steps:

Key generation
Key distribution
Encryption
Decryption

A simple algorithm is followed to generate the involved keys. The public key generation involves two prime numbers (for example, ‘x’ and ‘y’) being multiplied to get a large prime number (say ‘z’). ‘z’ here is such a large number that it is beyond the capabilities of being decoded. Both ‘x’ and ‘y’ need to be more or about 308 decimal digits long so that ‘z’ is roughly or more than 617 decimal digits long. Therefore, encryption strength lies in the key size, and to increase the strength of the encryption, the key size can be doubled or tripled.

The Keys used in the RSA encryption are typically 1028 bits long (which have not been broken yet), but with our computers transforming into supercomputers, this might not be the case in the coming future. So, since 2015, the size of the keys has been increased to be at least 2,048 bits, making it super difficult for any supercomputer to crack.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

AES is the standard that the ReXgen data loggers use for encrypting your data logs. AES was published (on 26th Nov 2002) and maintained by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). It became effective on 26th May 2002 and has since been the modern gold standard for data encryption. AES is a Cryptographic Computer Security Standard that transforms data into ciphertext, which is indecipherable to the hackers; no access is given without authorisation. Also, there is no concept of public and private keys, like in other encryption standards. Here, a symmetric-key algorithm is followed, i.e., one specific secret key is used for encryption and decryption.

For example:

Data: President to commute by road in car number XY 02 A 4567 @3:00 hours.

Encrypted data may look something like:

hksprwne5nsfnsfn93^@/fnsldf-xgdhh+shfns?bfsibba2.<gdsbwiqp!*bdln)dlmn (good luck decoding that)

AES includes three kinds of block ciphers, AES 128-bit, AES 196-bit and AES 256-bit. The numbers 128,196, and 256 specify the length of the key (in bits) used to convert the readable text into cypher text and back to readable one. The higher the number of bits, the more difficult it is to break the encryption. But that does not mean that data locked with a 128-bit key will be easy to hack. According to some well-known facts, AES can never be cracked, or until now, it hasn’t. Even a supercomputer will take around a billion years to crack a 128-bit long key.

For more information on AES, Click Here

The above table lists all the major features of both the RSA and AES standards. Both the standards are exceptionally excellent in the field of encryption. Both find applications in different domains, and, if combined, they are more than capable of keeping your data extremely secure. This union of two powerful encryption standards results in a combination that offers the security of RSA with the performance of AES and generates an AES key protected with RSA encryption.

Also, the device that supports both the standards should invariably be the first choice for saving or sending your data. All the devices under the ReXgen series from Influx are such devices (this is an optional feature, available on request). Both AES and RSA standards have been applied to keep your data secure. May that data be on the eMMC, network or cloud; it remains secure at any point in time.

So, in other words, ReXgen is offering you the security that is almost impossible to hack. It will keep your data logs so safe that even you won’t be able to read the file until you have the key. Or you can keep it completely safe from other departments or team members using the same device.

The key can be generated easily using the ReXdesk software; for more details on this, please visit,