DEVICE WITH A SECURE VIRTUAL MACHINE

• US 20100199104A1
• Filed: 07/16/2008
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Future Link Systems, LLC (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Van Rijnswou, Sander M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,639,949 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/189
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/72 in cryptographic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0866 involving user or device identifiers, e.g. serial number, physical or biometrical information, DNA, hand-signature or measurable physical characteristics

Abstract

A secure computing device (100) includes a secure cryptographic module (120) with a key generation unit (124) for generating a cryptographic key in dependence on received input. A storage (140) is used for storing a virtual machine (142) that is executable on a processor (110) and at least one program (144) that is executable on the virtual machine. A virtual machine manager (130) including means 132 for determining an identifier associated 5 with the virtual machine, means 134 for supplying a representation of the identifier to the secure cryptographic module and retrieving a cryptographic key from the secure cryptographic module; and means 136 for, under control of the cryptographic key, decrypting at least a part of data input to the processor and encrypting at least part of data output from the processor when the processor executes the virtual machine.

Claims

1. A secure computing device comprising:

a secure cryptographic module, including an input, a key generation unit for generating a cryptographic key in dependence on received input and an output for producing the cryptographic key;

a processor;

a storage including a virtual machine that is executable on the processor, and at least one program that is executable on the virtual machine; and

a virtual machine manager including;

means for determining an identifier associated with the virtual machine;

means for supplying a representation of the identifier to the secure cryptographic module and retrieving a cryptographic key from the secure cryptographic module; and

means for, under control of the cryptographic key, decrypting at least a part of data input to the processor and encrypting at least part of data output from the processor when the processor executes the virtual machine.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the key generation unit includes a Physical Uncloneable Function (PUF).

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the identifier is derived from at least one of the following:

the virtual machine itself, and

the program.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the device includes a plurality of programs;

each program being executable on the virtual machine and operating on an associated digital content item stored in a data storage; and

the virtual machine manager being arranged to derive the representation of the identifier in dependence on the program and/or the digital content item associated with the program such that the representation of the identifier is unique for the program.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the secure computing device is operated under control of an operating system arranged to execute multiple processes associated with the virtual machine;

the means for determining an identifier being arranged to;

determine a session identifier at a moment a process is activated, where the session identifier is unique for the process or a program associated with the process;

supply the session identifier as the identifier associated with the virtual machine;

securely store in association with the process as a session key an output generated by the secure cryptographic module; and

during a period in which a process is active use the session key stored in association with the process as the cryptographic key for encrypting/decrypting at least part of the data operated upon by the process.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the session identifier depends on at least one of the following:

a process identifier,

a random number, and

a timestamp.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device is arranged to cryptographically secure access by the processor to and from at least one of the following units external to the processor:

the storage,

an electronic main memory,

a program cache,

a data cache,

an I/O bus, and

a plurality of registers.

8. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device includes means for calculating a hash of the identifier associated with the virtual machine;

the key generation unit generating the cryptographic key in dependence on the hash.

9. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the virtual machine manager and processor are implemented in a same tamper resistant unit.

10. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the virtual machine manager is implemented in software and arranged to be executed on the processor.

11. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the PUF is physically integrated with the virtual machine manager.

12. A device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the virtual machine manager is implemented on a semiconductor device and the PUF is integrated on the semiconductor device.

13. A device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the PUF is of one of an optical type and an electronic type.

14. A method of securing data being exchanged with a processor in a secure computing device;

the method comprising;

loading a virtual machine in the processor and executing the virtual machine;

loading at least one program into the processor that is executable on the virtual machine;

determining an identifier associated with the virtual machine,

in a secure cryptographic module generating a cryptographic key in dependence on a representation of the identifier; and

under control of the cryptographic key, decrypting at least a part of data input to the processor and encrypting at least part of data output from the processor when the processor executes the virtual machine.

15. A computer program product for causing a processor to perform the method of claim 14.