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Without additional security measures, the exchange of data via the public internet is always vulnerable to interception, diversion, or alteration by a malicious “man in the middle”. To achieve maximum security for the exchange of confidential and mission-critical data in the automotive industry, the Odette File Transfer Protocol (OFTP2) relies on Transport Layer Security (TLS) using digital certificates issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA).

In addition, these certificates ensure desk to desk confidentiality through file encryption (used especially for CAD and engineering data) and non-repudiation through the use of digital signatures.

To ensure the availability of digital certificates which satisfy the ever-increasing security needs of the automotive industry, Odette has set up its own Certificate Authority as part of its overall OdetteSecure service.

Digital certificates issued by the Odette CA are optimised for use with OFTP2, providing second to none security at a competitive price. The Odette CA service is easy to use and provides users with on-going expert advice tailored to their individual needs.

What is a digital certificate?

In cryptography, a public key certificate, also known as a digital certificate or identity certificate, is an electronic document used to prove the ownership of a public key. The certificate includes information about the key, information about the identity of its owner (called the subject), and the digital signature of an entity (called the issuer) that has verified the certificate's contents . If the signature is valid, and the software examining the certificate trusts the issuer, then it can use that key to communicate securely with the certificate's subject. In Transport Layer Security (TLS) a certificate's subject is typically a computer or other device, though TLS certificates may also identify organisations or individuals in addition to their core role in identifying devices.

In a typical public-key infrastructure (PKI) scheme, the certificate issuer is a Certificate Authority (CA), usually a company that charges customers to issue certificates for them.

The most common format for public key certificates is defined by X.509, the format is further constrained by profiles defined for certain use cases, such as Public Key Infrastructure (X.509) as defined in RFC 5280.

Your partner’s system will use the public key to encrypt information to be sent to you and your system will use your private key to decrypt the information. The decryption process can only be done with the private key. Similarly, when you send information, your system uses the appropriate public key (certificate) of your partner to encrypt data and your partner uses their private key to decrypt the information.

Securing your identity with OdetteSecure

Digital Certificates issued by the Odette Certification Authority (CA) enable file encryption and decryption, proof of origin (non-repudiation) and integrity checking all of which ensure the level of security and confidentiality that business partners demand.

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Enhanced Validation

When Odette issues a certificate, we are guaranteeing the identity of the requesting organisation. Certificates are not available off the shelf; all requests must undergo a formal and thorough validation procedure carried out by Odette Registration Authorities (RA).

These RA include Odette International and our National Associations in Europe plus CEDEX, our partner in China, who is authorised to validate requests arising from this key automotive market.

To ensure the identity of communication partners and protect the integrity of sensitive commercial and design data, organisations throughout the automotive industry trust and recommend the Odette CA service.

Obtain a Certificate

The Odette CA service is easy to use but, if necessary, customers can obtain multilingual expert support tailored to the needs of all types of automotive companies, from OEM to SME.
Register on the OdetteSecure website
Create your Certificate Signing Request (CSR)*, including generation of your private key
Access the Certificates service and complete a simple on-line application process
The Odette Registration Authority (RA) will validate the information provided in your application and, if satisfied, will instruct the Odette CA to sign and issue your public key certificate
Download your signed public key certificate from the OdetteSecure website, combine it with your private key and install it in your OFTP2 software
Distribute your public key (i.e. the signed Certificate) to your partners.

* Odette provides an easy-to-use tool for the generation of a CSR and the subsequent combination of public and private key.

Price: €180 per annum for a certificate valid for 1, 2, 3 or 4 years

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