US 7,613,915 B2Granted

Method for programming on-chip non-volatile memory in a secure processor, and a device so programmed

AssigneeBroadOn Communications Corp.

InventorsPramila Srinivasan, John Princen

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

An improved secure programming technique involves reducing the size of bits programmed in on-chip secret non-volatile memory, at the same time enabling the typical secure applications supported by secure devices. A technique for secure programming involves de-coupling chip manufacture from the later process of connecting to ticket servers to obtain tickets. A method according to the technique may involve sending a (manufacturing) server signed certificate from the device prior to any communication to receive tickets. A device according to the technique may include chip-internal non-volatile memory to store the certificate along with the private key, in the manufacturing process.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A device comprising:

on-chip non-volatile memory including:
a device ID;
a private key;
an issuer ID;
a first signature;
a certificate generating module coupled to the non-volatile memory configured to:
read the device ID, the private key, the issuer ID, and the first signature from the non-volatile memory;
compute a public key as a function of the private key;
construct a device certificate as a function of the device ID, the issuer ID, the public key, and the first signature;
an interface coupled to the certificate generating module, wherein, in operation, a request for the device certificate is received on the interface, the certificate generating module constructs the device certificate, and the device certificate is sent via the interface in response to the request;
wherein the device is further configured to:
create a temporary key pair having two keys, a temporary public key and a temporary private key, using a number generator;
create an application certificate by signing data including the temporary public key, using a stored private key;
using the temporary private key to compute a second signature as a function of a random number;
wherein the second signature and the random number are sent via the interface in response to the request, along with the device certificate.

12 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/601,323Filed 16 Nov 2006 · us provisional application
Priority: 9 Nov 2006
Published: US 2008/0114984 A115 May 2008
Granted: 3 Nov 2009
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

G06F 21/72
To assure secure computing or processing of information: in cryptographic circuits
G06F 21/33
User authentication: using certificates
G06F 21/71
Protecting specific internal or peripheral components, in which the protection of a component leads to protection of the entire computer: to…
G06F 21/73
To assure secure computing or processing of information: by creating or determining hardware identification, e.g. serial numbers

Family

Application60/857,840Us provisional application · filed 9 Nov 2006
US 2008/0114984 A1Pre-grant publication · published 15 May 2008
US 7,613,915 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Timeline

Citations

Open elsewhere

Building an agent or pulling many patents? Use the API or MCP server instead of scraping pages. Get an API key