Update System for Cipher System

• US 20080235517A1
• Filed: 03/08/2005
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakano, Toshihisa, Ohmori, Motoji, Matsuzaki, Natsume
• Application Number:
  US10/592,762
• Publication Number:
  US 20080235517A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/187
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/12 Details relating to cryptographic hardware or logic circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/601 Broadcast encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0891 Revocation or update of secret information, e.g. encryption key update or rekeying

Abstract

There is a demand for a device handling information with the use of encryption technology to safely and simply update the encryption schemes. The present invention offers an information security device having a plurality of encryption schemes and handling information safely and reliably, characterized by selecting one of the plurality of encryption schemes as an application encryption scheme and installing a different encryption scheme from the plurality of encryption schemes based on the application encryption scheme.

Claims

1. An information security device having a plurality of encryption schemes and handling information safely and reliably, characterized by

selecting one of the plurality of encryption schemes as an application encryption scheme and installing a different encryption scheme from the plurality of encryption schemes based on the application encryption scheme.

2. The information security device of claim 1, comprising:

an obtaining unit operable to obtain an installation direction to install the different encryption scheme;

a selecting unit operable to select the one of the plurality of encryption schemes as the application encryption scheme;

an installation unit operable to install the different encryption scheme based on the application encryption scheme; and

an encryption processing unit operable to process the information securely based on at least one encryption scheme from among the plurality of encryption schemes and the installed different encryption scheme.

3. The information security device of claim 2, wherein

the selecting unit selects a most recently installed encryption scheme from the plurality of encryption schemes as the application encryption scheme.

4. The information security device of claim 2, wherein

the selecting unit selects an encryption scheme with a highest encryption level from the plurality of encryption schemes as the application encryption scheme.

5. The information security device of claim 2, wherein

the selecting unit includes:

a direction obtaining subunit operable to externally obtain a selection direction indicating one of the plurality of encryption schemes; and

a selecting subunit operable to select the one of the plurality of encryption schemes as the application encryption scheme according to the obtained selection direction.

6. The information security device of claim 2, wherein

the obtaining unit obtains, as the installation direction, identification information identifying a broken encryption scheme among the plurality of encryption schemes, and

the selecting unit selects, as the application encryption scheme, an encryption scheme other than the broken encryption scheme identified by the identification information from among the plurality of encryption schemes.

7. The information security device of claim 6, wherein

the encryption processing unit processes the information safely based on the encryption scheme other than the broken encryption scheme identified by the identification information.

8. The information security device of claim 6, wherein

the encryption processing unit uses the broken encryption scheme identified by the identification information only for decrypting a ciphertext.

9. The information security device of claim 6, further comprising:

a deletion unit operable to delete the broken encryption scheme identified by the identification information.

10. The information security device of claim 2, wherein

the different encryption scheme includes an algorithm showing procedures for achieving the different encryption scheme and private key information, and

the installation unit obtains the algorithm from an external device, safely obtains the private key information from the external device with use of the application encryption scheme, and stores therein the obtained algorithm and private key information.

11. The information security device of claim 2, wherein

the encryption processing unit includes a key storage subunit and a computation execution subunit,

the key storage subunit stores therein a plurality of key information sets, each of which corresponds to a different one of the plurality of encryption schemes,

the computation execution subunit includes an encryption circuit for executing processing in accordance with the plurality of encryption schemes and a logic circuit, at least part of which is rewritable, and

the installation unit includes:

a procedure obtaining subunit operable to obtain procedure information showing a procedure to establish an encryption circuit for executing processing in accordance with the different encryption scheme on the logic circuit;

a key obtaining subunit operable to safely obtain a private key information set with use of the application encryption scheme and write the obtained private key information set to the key storage subunit; and

an establishment subunit operable to establish the encryption circuit for executing processing in accordance with the different encryption scheme on the logic circuit according to the procedure shown by the obtained procedure information.

12. The information security device of claim 11, wherein

the procedure obtaining subunit obtains the procedure information from a server device via a network.

13. The information security device of claim 12, wherein

the network is a broadcast network for digital broadcasting, and

the procedure obtaining subunit obtains the procedure information by receiving broadcast waves and extracting the procedure information from the received broadcast waves.

14. The information security device of claim 11, in which a portable recording medium is placed, wherein

the portable recording medium stores therein an encrypted private key information set that is generated by encrypting the private key information set with use of the application encryption scheme, and

the key obtaining subunit obtains the private key information set by reading the encrypted private key information set from the portable recording medium and decrypting the read encrypted private key information set with use of the application encryption scheme.

15. The information security device of claim 11, wherein

the key obtaining subunit obtains the private key information set by (i) obtaining, via a network, an encrypted private key information set that is generated by encrypting the private key information set with use of the application encryption scheme and (ii) decrypting the obtained encrypted private key information set with use of the application encryption scheme.

19. The encryption scheme installation program of claim 15 stored in a computer-readable recording medium.

16. An information security system including an information security device that has a plurality of encryption schemes and handles information safely and reliably and a server device that supplies a different encryption scheme from the plurality of encryption schemes, wherein

the server device comprises a supply unit operable to supply the different encryption scheme, and

the information security device comprises:

an obtaining unit operable to obtain an installation direction to install the different encryption scheme;

a selecting unit operable to select one of the plurality of encryption schemes as an application encryption scheme;

an installation unit operable to install the different encryption scheme based on the application encryption scheme; and

an encryption processing unit operable to process the information safely based on at least one encryption scheme from among the plurality of encryption schemes and the installed different encryption scheme.

17. An encryption scheme installation method used in an information security device that has a plurality of encryption schemes, handles information safely and reliably, and installs a different encryption scheme from the plurality of encryption schemes based on an application encryption scheme, which is one of the plurality of encryption schemes, the encryption scheme installation method comprising the steps of:

obtaining an installation direction to install the different encryption scheme;

selecting the one of the plurality of encryption schemes as the application encryption scheme; and

installing the different encryption scheme based on the application encryption scheme.

18. An encryption scheme installation program used in an information security device that has a plurality of encryption schemes, handles information safely and reliably, and installs a different encryption scheme from the plurality of encryption schemes based on an application encryption scheme, which is one of the plurality of encryption schemes, the encryption scheme installation program causing a computer to execute the steps of:

obtaining an installation direction to install the different encryption scheme;

selecting the one of the plurality of encryption schemes as the application encryption scheme; and

installing the different encryption scheme based on the application encryption scheme.