Method, device and non-transitory computer readable storage medium for masking the end of life transition of a electronic device
US8566572B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 21, 2008 |
| Grant date | Oct 22, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 6, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG09C1/00
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method of masking the end-of-life transition of a microprocessor electronic device including reprogrammable non-volatile memory containing an end-of-life state variable. On booting, the value of the variable is loaded into RAM. After executing any current command, it is verified whether the value of the variable stored in RAM is FALSE. If the response is negative, the end-of-life transition is executed. Otherwise, initialization or execution of the command is continued. On detecting an intrusive attack, it is instantiated by writing the TRUE value to the end-of-life state variable in RAM only and then deferring writing of the TRUE value to the variable in the non-volatile memory until the next write operation. The invention is applicable to any electronic device, smart card, etc.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.