Patent · US Active

Secure provisioning in an untrusted environment

US9100174B2 · kind B2 · utility

7Cited by
10References
23Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 20, 2014
Grant dateAug 4, 2015
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 20, 2034

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L9/3247
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Embodiments include methods for securely provisioning copies of an electronic circuit. A first entity (e.g., a chip manufacturer) embeds one or more secret values into copies of the electronic circuit. A second entity (e.g., an OEM): 1) embeds a trust anchor in a first copy of the electronic circuit; 2) causes the electronic circuit to generate a message signing key pair using the trust anchor and the embedded secret value(s); 3) signs provisioning code using a code signing private key; and 4) sends a corresponding code signing public key, the trust anchor, and the signed provisioning code to a third entity (e.g., a product manufacturer). The third entity embeds the trust anchor in a second copy of the electronic circuit and causes the electronic circuit to: 1) generate the message signing private key; 2) verify the signature of the signed provisioning code using the code signing public key; and 3) launch the provisioning code on the electronic circuit. The electronic circuit can authenticate itself to the OEM using the message signing key pair.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.