COMPUTING DEVICE BOOT SOFTWARE AUTHENTICATION
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a processor circuit; and
a storage communicatively coupled to the processor circuit and arranged to store an initial boot software component comprising a sequence of instructions operative on the processor circuit to;
select a first set of boot software components of multiple sets of boot software components, each set of boot software components defines a pathway that branches from the initial boot software component and that rejoins at a latter boot software component;
authenticate a first boot software component of the first set of boot software components; and
execute a sequence of instructions of the first boot software component to authenticate a second boot software component of the first set of boot software components to form a chain of authentication through a first pathway defined by the first set of boot software components.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Various embodiments are generally directed to authenticating a chain of components of boot software of a computing device. An apparatus comprises a processor circuit and storage storing an initial boot software component comprising instructions operative on the processor circuit to select a first set of boot software components of multiple sets of boot software components, each set of boot software components defines a pathway that branches from the initial boot software component and that rejoins at a latter boot software component; authenticate a first boot software component of the first set of boot software components; and execute a sequence of instructions of the first boot software component to authenticate a second boot software component of the first set of boot software components to form a chain of authentication through a first pathway defined by the first set of boot software components. Other embodiments are described and claimed herein.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a processor circuit; and a storage communicatively coupled to the processor circuit and arranged to store an initial boot software component comprising a sequence of instructions operative on the processor circuit to; select a first set of boot software components of multiple sets of boot software components, each set of boot software components defines a pathway that branches from the initial boot software component and that rejoins at a latter boot software component; authenticate a first boot software component of the first set of boot software components; and execute a sequence of instructions of the first boot software component to authenticate a second boot software component of the first set of boot software components to form a chain of authentication through a first pathway defined by the first set of boot software components. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus comprising:
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a main processor circuit; a main storage communicatively coupled to the main processor circuit and arranged to store an initial boot software component; a controller comprising a controller processor circuit communicatively coupled to the main storage, and a controller storage communicatively coupled to the controller processor circuit and arranged to store a boot routine comprising a sequence of instructions operative on the controller processor circuit to authenticate the initial boot software component; and the initial boot software component operative on the main processor circuit to; select a first set of boot software components of multiple sets of boot software components, each set of boot software components defines a pathway that branches from the initial boot software component and that rejoins at a latter boot software component, and the main storage stores at least one set of boot software components; and authenticate a first boot software component of the first set of boot software components to form a chain of authentication that extends from the boot routine and into a first pathway defined by the first set of boot software components. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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executing a sequence of instructions of a boot routine on a first processor circuit to employ a first public key of the boot routine to authenticate an initial boot software component; executing a sequence of instructions of the initial boot software component on a second processor circuit to select a first set of boot software components of multiple sets of boot software components, each set of boot software components defining a pathway branching from the initial boot software component and rejoining at a latter boot software component; and executing a sequence of instructions of the initial boot software component on the second processor circuit to employ a second public key of the initial boot software component to authenticate a first boot software component of the first set of boot software components, forming a chain of authentication from the boot routine and into a first pathway defined by the first set of boot software components. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. At least one machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to:
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select a first set of boot software components of multiple sets of boot software components, each set of boot software components defining a pathway branching from an initial boot software component and rejoining at a latter boot software component; employ a first public key of the initial boot software component to authenticate a first boot software component of the first set of boot software components; and employ a second public key of the first boot software component to authenticate a second boot software component of the first set of boot software components, forming a chain of authentication from the initial boot software component through a first pathway defined by the first set of boot software components. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification