Secure Computer Architectures, Systems, and Applications

A method for providing secure computing operations on a computing device, the method comprising:

• executing a legacy computing environment by a legacy processor executing instructions stored in a legacy memory, the legacy computing environment being utilized to facilitate complex computing functions of the computing system or computing operations that expose the computing system to security risks that are external to the computing device;
• and
• executing a trusted computing environment by a trusted processor executing instructions stored in a trusted memory, the trusted computing environment being utilized to process input and output operations of the computing device and monitor the legacy computing environment;
• further comprising executing a first portion of an application in the trusted computing environment and executing a second portion of the application in the legacy computing environment;
• combining an output of the first portion of the application executed in the trusted computing environment with an output of the second portion of the application executed in the trusted computing environment;
• and
• executing a third portion of the application in another legacy computing environment.

A computing device, comprising:

• a trusted environment comprising:
• a trusted processor;
• and
• a trusted memory for storing executable instructions, the trusted memory storing passwords for a user;
• a legacy environment comprising:
• a secondary processor that is physically separated from the trusted processor;
• and
• a secondary memory for storing executable instructions, the secondary processor executing the instructions to provide a legacy computing environment that utilizes applications or network resources that require one or more of the passwords for authenticating the user;
• and
• wherein the trusted environment provides one or more passwords in response to a request, in such a way that the one or more passwords provided by the trusted environment are not exposed to the legacy environment;
• further comprising a network interface that is dedicated for the trusted environment, the network interface being inaccessible to the legacy environment;
• and comprising I/O devices, wherein each of the I/O devices comprises dedicated connections for the trusted environment, wherein at least a portion of the I/O devices which do not pose a security risk to a computing system are coupled with the legacy environment;
• wherein the legacy environment executes safe applications to generate output in a structured form, further wherein the trusted environment comprises a content insertion module that is executed by the trusted processor to insert trusted data into the structured form;
• wherein content downloaded from a network is stored and executed only in the legacy environment, the downloaded content being inaccessible by the trusted environment.