RECORDING OF A KEY IN AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT

• US 20090067630A1
• Filed: 07/22/2005
• Published: 03/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Proton World International N.V. (STMicroelectronics NV)
• Original Assignee: Proton World International N.V. (STMicroelectronics NV)
• Inventors: Huque, Thierry, Fontaine, Paul, Daemen, Joan
• Granted Patent: US 8,316,221 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/277
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40975 using encryption therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

The invention concerns a method and a system for customizing electronic components (2), by substituting in a nonvolatile storage each one first secret key (Ks) with a second secret key (Ks′), using a secure authentication module (1) automatically generating said second key after reconstructing the first key from an identifier of the component during customization, which consists in conditioning, on the authentication module side, the supply of the second key for a current component upon reception of a confirmation message for key substitution of at least one previous component.

Claims

1. A method for personalizing electronic elements, by replacing in a non-volatile memory of each of the electronic elements, a first secret key with a second secret key, by means of a secure authentication module automatically generating said second key after having restored the first one from an identifier of the element being personalized, said method comprising conditioning, on the authentication module side, the provision of the second key to a current element to the reception of a message confirming the key replacement of at least one preceding element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a module counter totalizes the number of successive confirmation messages not received for preceding elements and compares this number with a stored threshold to allow personalization of the current element, the counter being reset each time a current element confirms the replacement of its key.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the exchanges between the element and the module are coded by data generated by said module and changing for each new element.

4. The method of any of claim 1, wherein a same secret key of an electronic element is replaced with several second keys.

5. The method of any of claim 1, wherein the authentication module is a smart card.

6. The method of any of claim 1, wherein said element is a smart card.

7. A system for personalizing keys in smart cards, comprising means for replacing, in a non-volatile memory of each of the electronic elements a first secret key with a second secret key, by means of a secure authentication module automatically generating said second key after having restored the first one from an identifier of the element being personalized, said method comprising conditioning on the authentication module side, the provision of the second key to a current element to the reception of a message confirming the key replacement of at least one preceding element.