US 8,300,825 B2 · Data encryption and/or decryption by integrated circuit

Abstract

In an embodiment, an apparatus is provided that may include an integrated circuit to be removably communicatively coupled to at least one storage device. The integrated circuit of this embodiment may be capable of encrypting and/or and decrypting, based at least in part upon a first key, data to be, in at least in part, stored in and/or retrieved from, respectively, at least one region of the at least one storage device. The at least one region and a second key may be associated with at least one access privilege authorized, at least in part, by an administrator. The second key may be stored, at least in part, externally to the at least one storage device. The first key may be obtainable, at least in part, based, at least in part, upon at least one operation involving the second key. Of course, many alternatives, modifications, and variations are possible without departing from this embodiment.

Claims15

Dependent claims

An apparatus comprising:

an integrated circuit to be comprised in a host, the host having a host processor to execute an operating system of the host, the integrated circuit to be removably communicatively coupled via an interface of a host to at least one storage device, the at least one storage device being capable of being removably communicatively coupled to the host via the interface, the integrated circuit being inaccessible to the host processor and the operating system, the integrated circuit being capable of encrypting, based at least in part upon a first key, first data for storage in at least one region of the at least one storage device, the at least one region and a second key being associated with at least one access privilege authorized by an administrator, the second key being stored, at least in part, in memory in the host that is external to the at least one storage device, the memory that is in the host and that is external to the at least one storage device being inaccessible to the host processor and the operating system, the first key being obtainable based, at least in part, upon at least one operation involving the second key.

Machine-readable memory storing one or more instructions that when executed by a machine result in execution of operations comprising:

encrypting by an integrated circuit, based at least in part upon a first key, first data for storage in at least one region of at least one storage device, the integrated circuit to be comprised in a host, the host having a host processor to execute an operating system of the host, the integrated circuit to be removably communicatively coupled via an interface of the host to the at least one storage device, the at least one storage device being capable of being removably communicatively coupled to the host via the interface, the at least one region and a second key being associated with at least one access privilege authorized by an administrator, the second key being stored, at least in part, in host memory in the host that is external to the at least one storage device, both the host memory that is in the host and the integrated circuit being inaccessible to the host processor and the operating system, the first key being obtainable based, at least in part, upon at least one operation involving the second key.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Data encryption and/or decryption by integrated circuit

Life of this patent

Data encryption and/or decryption by integrated circuit

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15