Dynamic creation and hierarchical organization of trusted platform modules

US8549288B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Steven A. Bade · Georgetown, US
• Stefan Berger · Raubling, DE
• Kenneth A. Goldman · Norwalk, US
• Ronald Perez · Mount Kisco, US
• Reiner Sailer · Scarsdale, US
• Leendert Peter Van Doorn · Valhalla, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 29, 2008
• Grant date: Oct 1, 2013
• Expiry date: Aug 31, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F21/57
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A trusted platform module is presented that is capable of creating, dynamically, multiple virtual trusted platform modules in a hierarchical organization. A trusted platform module domain is created. The trusted platform module creates virtual trusted platform modules, as needed, in the trusted platform module domain. The virtual trusted platform modules can inherit the permissions of a parent trusted platform module to have the ability to create virtual trusted platform modules themselves. Each virtual trusted platform module is associated with a specific partition. Each partition is associated with an individual operating system. The hierarchy of created operating systems and their privilege of spawning new operating systems is reflected in the hierarchy of trusted platform modules and the privileges each of the trusted platform modules has.