Encryption of system paging file
US7325115B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 25, 2003 |
| Grant date | Jan 29, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 22, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2221/2143
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An operating system copies data from memory pages into a paging file on disk, in order to free up space in the memory. A mechanism is disclosed that causes the data to be encrypted as it is copied into the paging file, thereby protecting the paged data from unauthorized (or otherwise undesired) observation. The data that is stored in the paging file is encrypted with a session key, that is generated shortly after the machine on which the paging file exists is started. The session key, which is used both for encryption and decryption of the paging file data, is stored in volatile memory, so that the key is not persisted across boots of the machine. Since the key is not persisted across boots, old paging file data that was stored prior to the most recent boot cannot be recovered in clear text, thereby protecting the data from observation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.