INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND SYSTEM FOR INSTALLING COMPUTER CODE THEREON

• US 20110145586A1
• Filed: 12/14/2010
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: MEYN, Hauke, MALZAHN, Ralf
• Granted Patent: US 8,751,811 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/72 in cryptographic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures

Abstract

An integrated circuit 100 is provided, which is configured for authentication itself and technical information concerning the integrated circuit or its installed software to an external computing device 200. The integrated circuit 100 comprises a signer 130 for producing a signature over the information and a challenge using a cryptographic signing key, and a communication module 110 for providing the information and the signature to the computing device 200. In response to receiving the information and the authentication, the computing device 200 may install new application code on the integrated circuit. After the installation, the integrated circuit may authenticate information concerning the new application code to other computing devices. The integrated circuit is advantageously a multiple application smart card, since it allows application providers to obtain trust in the multiple application smart card without having a relationship with its manufacturer.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit comprising a communication module for providing information representing technical capabilities of the integrated circuit to a computing device external to the integrated circuit

wherein the integrated circuit further comprises

a combiner for obtaining a cryptographic challenge and for combining the information with the cryptographic challenge,

a key storage comprising a cryptographic signing key, and

a signer for producing a signature over the combined information and the challenge using the signing key,

providing the information representing technical capabilities comprises providing the signature to the computing device

wherein the integrated circuit comprises

an application receiver for receiving application computer code and for installing the received application computer code in a code memory of the integrated circuit to enable the integrated circuit with new functionality, the application receiver being configured for receiving the application computer code after the providing of the signature to the computing device, the application receiver is configured to further receiver application information from the computing device, and

wherein the combiner is configured for combining a further challenge with the application information after the application computer code has been installed.

2. An integrated circuit as in claim 1, wherein the communication module is further configured for receiving the challenge from the computing device.

3. An integrated circuit as in claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit comprises a clock and wherein the challenge comprises a timestamp obtained from the clock.

4. An integrated circuit as in claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit comprises a counter and wherein the challenge comprises a nonce obtained from the counter, the counter being configured to be increased when the nonce is obtained.

5. An integrated circuit as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the integrated circuit comprises

a code memory for storing computer code, and

a processing unit for executing code stored in the code memory,

the combiner is configured for combining the challenge with computer code information representing technical capabilities of the computer code.

8. An integrated circuit as in claim 1 wherein the signing key is a private key from a public-private key pair.

9. An integrated circuit as in claim 8, wherein providing the information representing technical capabilities comprises providing a certificate to the computing device, wherein the certificate is authenticated and comprises the public key from the public-private key pair.

10. A system for installing application computer code on an integrated circuit, the system comprising an integrated circuit and a computing device as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the computing device is configured for using a signature verifier configured for verifying the signature.

11. A system for installing application computer code as in claim 10, wherein the signing key is a symmetric key and wherein the signature verifier is configured to contact a third party server for verifying the signature.

12. A system for installing application computer code as in claim 10, wherein the computing device comprises an information comparator for comparing the information representing technical capabilities received from the integrated circuit with a predetermined set of required technical capabilities, the computing device being configured to allow installing application computer code in dependency on the comparison.

6. (canceled)

7. (canceled)

13. A method of providing information representing technical capabilities of a integrated circuit to a computing device external to the integrated circuit comprising

obtaining a cryptographic challenge

combining the information with the challenge, and

producing a signature over the combined information and the challenge using a cryptographic signing key,

wherein providing the information representing technical capabilities comprises providing the signature to the computing device

receiving application computer code after the providing of the signature to the computing device,

installing the received application computer code in a code memory of the integrated circuit to enable the integrated circuit with new functionality, and

receiving application information from the computing device,

wherein method further comprises combining a further challenge with the application information after the application computer code has been installed.

14. A method of installing application computer code on an integrated circuit comprising the method of claim 13, comprising

verifying the signature by the computing device, and

installing the application computer code on the integrated circuit.

15. A computer program comprising computer program code means adapted to perform all the steps of claim 13 when the computer program is run on a computer.

16. A computer program as claimed in claim 15 embodied on a computer readable medium.