APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SECURE DATA PROCESSING

• US 20090202077A1
• Filed: 02/05/2009
• Published: 08/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Micronas Gmbh (TDK Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Micronas Gmbh (TDK Corporation)
• Inventors: Hils, Andreas
• Application Number:
  US12/366,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20090202077A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/277
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/72 in cryptographic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26613 for generating or managing keys in general key distribution for secret or secure communication involving central third party, e.g. key distribution center [KDC] or trusted third party [TTP] H04L9/083; network support of key management H04L63/06; key management for network security in communication control or processing H04W12/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63345 by transmitting keys key distribution for secret or secure communication H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06

Abstract

A method for secure processing of a data stream using a secret key stored in a key storage, with the data stream including content data and context information, with the key storage holding several secret keys, the method including: extracting the context information from the content data stream; generating address information based on the context information for accessing one of the several secret keys stored in the key storage; retrieving from the key storage the one of the several secret keys using the address information; processing the content data using the retrieved secret key. Further disclosed is an apparatus for secure data processing.

Claims

1. A method for secure processing of a data stream using a secret key stored in a key storage, with the data stream including content data and context information, with the key storage holding several secret keys, the method comprising:

extracting the context information from the content data stream;

generating address information based on the context information for accessing one of the several secret keys stored in the key storage;

retrieving from the key storage the one of the several secret keys using the address information;

processing the content data using the retrieved secret key.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the content data are processed using a cipher processing unit.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the content data stream comprises a sequence of data packages, with each of the packages comprising an encryption information and a content data package.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the content data stream contains audio or video data.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the processing unit is a software-controlled processing unit.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the cipher processing unit is a dedicated hardware unit.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the key storage comprises a context addressable memory in which the address information is stored.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the cipher processing unit is adapted to assume one of a number of different operation modes, and wherein the operation mode is selected dependent on the context information.

9. An apparatus for secure processing of a content data stream including content data and encryption data, comprising:

a first processing unit for extracting the encryption data from the data stream and generating address data based on the encryption data;

a key storage for storing several secret keys;

a read out device receiving the address data and retrieving a secret from the key storage based on the address data;

a second processing unit for receiving the content data and the secret key retrieved from the key storage and for processing the content data using the secret key.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second processing unit is a cipher processing unit.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first processing unit is a software-controlled processing unit.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cipher unit is a dedicated hardware unit.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the key storage is a context addressable memory.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the key storage is connected to a secure interface for feeding secret keys to the key storage.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising an interface circuit that is adapted to provide an operation mode signal dependent on the context information, and wherein the cipher unit is adapted to assume on of a number of different operation states dependent on the operation mode signal.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the second processing unit is a software-controlled processing unit.