MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDER SECURE MEMORY PARTITIONING AND ACCESS CONTROL

• US 20080109662A1
• Filed: 12/20/2006
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Original Assignee: Spansion LLC (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: Barck, Russell, Nathaniel Werner, Jeremy Isaac, Natarajan, Venkat, Obereiner, Willy, Tom, Joe Yuen
• Granted Patent: US 8,190,919 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/193
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1408 by using cryptography for digital transmission H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1441 for a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/2022 Flash memory

Abstract

A machine implemented system and method that effectuates secure access to a flash memory associated with a mobile device. The system includes a security component that intercepts transactions between an external processor and the flash memory and implements authentication and access control to the flash memory. The system further includes components that can partition the flash memory and can associate authentication and access control information with the partitioned flash memory.

Claims

1. A machine implemented system that effectuates secure access to a flash memory component, comprising:

a security component that intercepts communications between an external processor and the flash memory component and implements authentication and access control to the flash memory component.

2. The system of claim 1, the security component further includes a processing component that divides the flash memory component into a partition based on a unique identifier associated with the flash memory component and a start address and an end address,

3. The system of claim 2, the processing component rounds the start address and the end address to an erase unit boundary of the flash memory component.

4. The system of claim 2, the processing component associates an access type to the partition.

5. The system of claim 4, the access type includes one of read, write, or change access right.

6. The system of claim 2, the processing component associates a state to the partition, the state includes one of an open state and a close state.

7. The system of claim 6, the processing component associates an access permit to the partition, the access permit includes at least one of a PKI certificate, an unrestricted access, and access allowed when the state associated with the partition is the open state.

8. The system of claim 1, the security component further includes a security engine that implements hardware access control.

9. The system of claim 8, the security engine includes a cryptographic component that implements one or more symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic techniques to enforce hardware access control over the flash memory component.

10. The system of claim 1, the security component implemented on a application specific integrated circuit.

11. The system of claim 1, the flash memory component, the security component and the external processor integrated to form a mobile device, the flash component and the security component embedded in the mobile device.

12. A method implemented on a processor for facilitating and effectuating secure access to a flash memory component, comprising:

intercepting communications between an external host and the flash memory; and

utilizing a cryptographic technique to enforce the secure access to the flash memory component.

13. The method of claim 12, the cryptographic technique includes utilizing a symmetric cryptographic algorithm, an asymmetric cryptographic algorithm and a secure hashing algorithm to deny access to a partition created within the flash memory component.

14. The method of claim 13, further including soliciting credential information from an entity requesting access to the partition.

15. The method of claim 14, utilizing the credential information to grant one or more of a read, a write, and a change access right access type to the partition.

16. The method of claim 13, further including eliciting biometric information from the entity requesting access to the partition.

17. The method of claim 16, the biometric information includes at least iris data, face data and fingerprint data.

18. The method of claim 12, the processor, the external host and the flash memory incorporated to form a mobile device.

19. The method of claim 18, the mobile device one of a multimedia player, a Personal Digital Assistant, a cell phone, a lap top computer, and a hand held computing device.

20. A system that divides a flash memory component into one or more partitions, comprising:

means for dividing the flash memory component into the one or more partitions;

means for associating a pass code to the one or more partitions;

means for ascertaining a public key infrastructure (PKI) key and associating the public key infrastructure key to the one or more partitions; and

means for associating an access control attribute with the one or more partitions, the means for dividing, associating, ascertaining, and associating integrated to comprise a single entity.