Secure boot of a data breakout appliance with multiple subsystems at the edge of a mobile data network
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsWilliam F. Berg, Ronald L. Billau, Jeremiah D. Carlin, Vincenzo V. Di Luoffo
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A secure boot is provided for a breakout system having multiple subsystems at the edge of a mobile data network. The secure boot utilizes two trusted platform modules (TPM) to secure multiple subsystems. Further described is utilizing a first TPM to boot a service processor and then utilizing a second TPM to secure boot two additional subsystems. Booting of the final subsystem is accomplished in a two step process which first loads a boot loader and verifies the boot loader, and then second loads an operating system load image and verifies the operating system code.
Claims9
A method for providing security in a system with multiple subsystems, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a first subsystem having a load image and a first trusted platform module (TPM) with platform configuration registers (PCRs), booting the first subsystem from a load image and providing hash values to the PCRs of the first TPM;
- booting a second subsystem with a bootloader received from the first subsystem;
- providing a hash value to the PCRs of the first TPM;
- and
- verifying security of the first subsystem and the second subsystem combined by digitally signing the contents of the PCRs and sending a result to a management system to be compared to a known good value.
A method for providing security in a mobile data network, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a breakout system associated with one of a plurality of basestations, where the plurality of basestations each communicate with a corresponding antenna that transmits and receives radio signals to and from user equipment, wherein the plurality of basestations are part of a radio access network that communicates with a core network in the mobile data network;
- providing a service processor in the breakout system, the service processor have a first trusted platform module (TPM) and a load image, wherein the service processor boots from the load image and provides hash values to the first TPM,
- providing a system controller having a load image and a second TPM with PCRs, wherein the system controller boots from the load image and provides hash values to the PCRs of the second TPM;
- providing a telco breakout subsystem that receives a bootloader from the system controller and upon booting provides a hash value to the PCRs of the second TPM;
- and
- verifying the security of the service processor, system controller and telco breakout subsystem combined by digitally signing the PCR registers of the first TPM and the second TPM and sending a result to a management system to be compared to a known good value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.