Secure generation and inversion of tokens

• US 10,410,210 B1
• Filed: 04/01/2015
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Technology & Engineering Solutions Of Sandia LLC (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: National Technology & Engineering Solutions Of Sandia LLC (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Solis, John Hector
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Steven S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sax, Timothy Paul
• Application Number:
  US14/676,637
• Time in Patent Office: 1,623 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/38215 Use of certificates or encrypted proofs of transaction rights
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/00 Business processing using cryptography

Abstract

Described herein are various technologies related to secure generation of tokens and secure inversion of tokens. A tokenization system executes in a secure execution environment, and is configured to receive a string and an encrypted tokenization function. The tokenization system decrypts the encrypted tokenization function, and executes the tokenization function over the string to generate a token. The token is transmitted to a logically separate computing environment, and the tokenization system deletes the tokenization function and the string.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a secure execution environment that comprises;

a processor; and

memory that is operably coupled to the processor, the memory loaded with instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform acts for generating a token that represents a string that conforms to a predefined format, the acts comprising;

receiving a request to generate the token that is representative of the string from a logically separate computing environment, the request comprising an encrypted tokenization function and the string;

decrypting the encrypted tokenization function based upon a decryption algorithm that is securely retained in the secure execution environment;

generating the token by executing the tokenization function over the string;

deleting the tokenization function and the string responsive to the token being generated;

outputting the token to the logically separate computing environment;

subsequent to outputting the token to the logically separate computing environment, receiving the encrypted tokenization function and the token from the logically separate computing environment;

decrypting the encrypted tokenization function based upon the decryption algorithm that is securely retained in the secure execution environment;

inverting the tokenization function;

executing the inverted tokenization function over the token to generate the string;

deleting the inverted tokenization function responsive to the string being generated; and

outputting the string to the logically separate computing environment.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the secure execution environment comprises a first virtual machine executing on the apparatus, the processor being a virtual processor and the memory being a virtual memory, and wherein further the logically separate computing environment comprises a second virtual machine executing on the apparatus.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 being coupleable to a computing device that comprises the logically separate computing environment.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 being a Universal Serial Bus stick.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, the secure execution environment being a portion of an application specific integrated circuit.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, the string being a credit card number or a debit card number.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, the string being a number that identifies a person.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, the acts further comprising encrypting the string prior to outputting the string to the logically separate computing environment.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the string is encrypted, and wherein the acts further comprise decrypting the string prior to executing the tokenization function over the string.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein executing the tokenization function causes the token to have the predefined format.

11. A method for generating a token that represents a string that conforms to a predefined format, wherein the method is performed by a processor in a secure execution environment, the method comprising:

receiving a request to generate the token that is representative of the string from a computing environment that is logically separate from the secure execution environment, the request comprising an encrypted tokenization function and the string;

decrypting the encrypted tokenization function based upon a decryption algorithm that is securely retained in the secure execution environment;

generating the token by executing the tokenization function over the string;

deleting the tokenization function and the string responsive to the token being generated;

outputting the token to the logically separate computing environment;

subsequent to outputting the token to the logically separate computing environment, receiving the encrypted tokenization function and the token from the logically separate computing environment;

decrypting the encrypted tokenization function based upon the decryption algorithm that is securely retained in the secure execution environment;

inverting the tokenization function;

executing the inverted tokenization function over the token to generate the string;

deleting the inverted tokenization function responsive to the string being generated; and

outputting the string to the logically separate computing environment.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the secure execution environment comprises a first virtual machine executing on an apparatus that comprises the secure execution environment, the processor being a virtual processor and the memory being a virtual memory, and wherein further the logically separate computing environment comprises a second virtual machine executing on the apparatus.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein an apparatus that comprises the secure execution environment is coupleable to a computing device that comprises the computing environment that is logically separate from the secure execution environment.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is a Universal Serial Bus stick.

15. The method of claim 11, the secure execution environment being a portion of an application specific integrated circuit.

16. The method of claim 11, the string being a credit card number or a debit card number.

17. The method of claim 11, the string being a number that identifies a person.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising encrypting the string prior to outputting the string to the computing environment that is logically separate from the secure execution environment.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the string is encrypted, and wherein the method further comprises decrypting the string prior to executing the tokenization function over the string.

20. A memory device in a secure execution environment of an apparatus, wherein the memory device comprises instructions for generating a token that represents a string that conforms to a predefined format, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor in the secure execution environment of the apparatus, cause the processor to perform acts comprising:

receiving a request to generate the token that is representative of a first the string from a computing environment that is logically separate from the secure execution environment, the request comprising an encrypted tokenization function and the string;

decrypting the encrypted tokenization function based upon a decryption algorithm that is securely retained in the secure execution environment;

generating the token by executing the tokenization function over the string;

deleting the tokenization function and the string responsive to the token being generated;

outputting the token to the logically separate computing environment;

subsequent to outputting the token to the logically separate computing environment, receiving the encrypted tokenization function and the token from the logically separate computing environment;

decrypting the encrypted tokenization function based upon the decryption algorithm that is securely retained in the secure execution environment;

inverting the tokenization function;

executing the inverted tokenization function over the token to generate the string;

deleting the inverted tokenization function responsive to the string being generated; and

outputting the string to the logically separate computing environment.