Electronic device security through boot cycles
AssigneeSprint Communications Company L.P.
InventorsLyle W. Paczkowski, William M. Parsel, Carl J. Persson, Matthew C. Schlesener
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electronic device. The electronic device comprises a memory comprising a confidential information region and a non-confidential information region, a processor, and an application stored in the memory. When executed by the processor, the application determines if a reboot has occurred after a most recent power-off boot, where a reboot takes place without removing power from the processor and memory and, in response to determining that the reboot occurred after the most recent power-off boot, prevents access of applications to the confidential information region in the memory.
Claims17
An electronic device, comprising:
- a memory comprising a confidential information region and a non-confidential information region;
- a processor;
- and
- an application stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor:
- determines if a reboot has occurred after a most recent power-off boot, wherein the reboot is unassociated with an encompassing power-on boot and takes place without removing power from the processor and memory,
- determines an application installed in the memory of the electronic device that initiated the reboot,
- compares the identity of the application that initiated the reboot to a white list of applications, and
- in response to determining that the reboot occurred after the most recent power-off boot, prevents access of applications to the confidential information region in the memory at least partly based on the identity of the application that initiated the reboot.
A method of performing secure computing on a computer system, comprising:
- determining by the computer system if a reboot of the computer system is in-progress after a most recent power-off boot of the computer system, wherein the reboot is unassociated with an encompassing power-on boot and takes place without removing power from a processor of the computer system and a memory of the computer system, and wherein the memory comprises a confidential information region and a non-confidential information region;
- in response to a finding that reboot is in-progress after the most recent power-off boot, determining by the computer system if the reboot executed any carry-over instructions;
- establishing a communication link with an application provider that supports an application on the computer system associated with the carry-over instructions;
- sending a query about the carry-over instructions to an application programming interface (API) supported by the application provider;
- receiving a response from the application provider about the carry-over instructions;
- and
- in response to a finding that the reboot executed carry-over instructions and based on the received response, preventing access by the computer system of applications to the confidential information region in the memory.
An electronic device, comprising:
- a memory comprising a confidential information region and a non-confidential information region;
- a processor;
- and
- an application stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor determines if a reboot has occurred after a most recent power-off boot, wherein the reboot is unassociated with an encompassing power-on boot and takes place without removing power from the processor and memory,
- in response to determining that the reboot occurred after the most recent power-off boot, determines an identity of an application that initiated the reboot,
- compares the identity of the application that initiated the reboot to a white list of application identities, and
- in response to determining that the identity of the application is not present in the white list based on the comparison, prevents access of applications to the confidential information region in the memory.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.