Systems and methods for securely booting a computer with a trusted processing module
US7725703B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 7, 2005 |
| Grant date | May 25, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 12, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F21/575
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a computer with a trusted platform module (TPM), an expected hash value of a boot component may be placed into a platform configuration register (PCR), which allows a TPM to unseal a secret. The secret may then be used to decrypt the boot component. The hash of the decrypted boot component may then be calculated and the result can be placed in a PCR. The PCRs may then be compared. If they do not, access to the an important secret for system operation can be revoked. Also, a first secret may be accessible only when a first plurality of PCR values are extant, while a second secret is accessible only after one or more of the first plurality of PCR values has been replaced with a new value, thereby necessarily revoking further access to the first secret in order to grant access to the second secret.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.