Cryptographically protected paging subsystem

• US 5,757,919 A
• Filed: 12/12/1996
• Issued: 05/26/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Herbert, Howard C., Davis, Derek L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gregory, Bernarr E.
• Application Number:
  US08/764,154
• Time in Patent Office: 530 Days
• Field of Search: 380/4, 380/21, 380/23, 380/25, 380/28, 380/29, 380/30, 380/46, 380/49, 380/50
• US Class Current: 713/187
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1408 by using cryptography for digital transmission H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/602 Providing cryptographic facilities or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/71 to assure secure computing or processing of information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/72 in cryptographic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/79 in semiconductor storage media, e.g. directly-addressable memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/85 interconnection devices, e.g. bus-connected or in-line devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/86 Secure or tamper-resistant housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures

Abstract

A method and system for maintaining integrity and confidentiality of pages paged to an external storage unit from a physically secure environment. An outgoing page is selected to be exported from a physically secure environment to an insecure environment. An integrity check value is generated and stored for the outgoing page. In one embodiment, this takes the form of taking a one-way hash of the page using a well-known one-way hash function. The outgoing page is then encrypted using a cryptographically strong encryption algorithm. Among the algorithms that might be used in one embodiment of the invention are IDEA and DES. The encrypted outgoing page is then exported to the external storage. By virtue of the encryption and integrity check, the security of the data on the outgoing page is maintained in the insecure environment.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

generating an integrity check value for an outgoing page within a physically secure environment, the physically secure environment containing a processor and a memory;

nstoring the integrity check value for the outgoing page;

encrypting the outgoing page resulting in an encrypted page; and

exporting the encrypted page to a storage unit outside the secure execution environment.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

importing an encrypted incoming page from a storage unit outside the secure execution environment;

decrypting the incoming page;

calculating an integrity check value for the incoming page; and

comparing the integrity check value of the incoming page with a previously stored integrity check value corresponding to the incoming page.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the encrypted page is encrypted using a symmetric encryption algorithm.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of:

retrieving a random key for use in the encrypting step.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein every page related to a single application is encrypted using a same key.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein a different key is generated for every outgoing page.

7. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of:

storing the key in a table in the secure memory.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating comprises the steps of:

one way hashing the outgoing page; and

storing a predetermined portion of a hash value of the outgoing page in a location within the physically secure environment.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the location is pointed to by a pointer in a field of a page table entry corresponding to the outgoing page.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the predetermined portion is the whole hash value.

11. A system for maintaining security in a paging subsystem comprising:

a bus;

a secure processor coupled to a secure memory within a physically secure environment;

an insecure storage unit in an insecure environment outside the physically secure environment and coupled to the physically secure environment by the bus;

an interface within the physically secure environment and coupled between the bus and the secure processor, the interface encrypting and generating an integrity check value for a page exported to the insecure storaged unit, the interface decrypting and integrity checking the page when the page is imported back into the physically secure environment; and

a page table exportable from the secure memory, the page table storing one of the integrity check value and a pointer to the integrity check value.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the interface comprises:

an integrity check engine; and

an encryption engine coupled to the integrity check engine.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein a portion of the secure memory stores a predetermined portion of a one-way hash value of an outgoing page generated by the integrity check engine responsive to the export of the outgoing page.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the interface further comprises:

a random number generator coupled to the bus to generate an encryption key.

15. The system of claim 14 further comprising:

a key storage area storing a key corresponding to each page that has been exported from the interface.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein the encryption engine implements a symmetric bulk encryption algorithm.

17. The system of claim 12 wherein the encryption engine is a symmetric encryption engine.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the interface further comprises an asymmetric encryption engine.

19. The system of claim 12 wherein the secure environment resides on a single chip.

20. The system of claim 11 further comprising:

an insecure host processor coupled to the bus.

21. A method of introducing a software for use in a secure environment comprising the steps of:

generating an encryption key;

reading into the secure environment a page from the software to be introduced;

hashing the page to generate an integrity check value;

encrypting the page using the encryption key; and

exporting the page as encrypted to an external storage unit in an insecure environment.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the steps of:

verifying thet a valid digital signature exists on the software; and

invalidating the introduction if no valid digital signature exists.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of verifying comprises:

maintaining a first overall hash of the software as the software is introduced;

decrypting a second overall hash encrypted by a software originator using a public key and an asymmetric algorithm; and

comparing the first overall hash to the second overall hash.

24. A method of insuring integrity of a page paging between a physically secure environment and an insecure environment comprising the steps of:

generating an outgoing integrity check value for an outgoing page;

storing an outgoing integrity check value for the outgoing page generating an incoming integrity check value when the page is paged in; and

comparing the outgoing integrity check value with the incoming integrity check value.