Memory card with embedded identifier

• US 7,971,017 B1
• Filed: 08/21/2006
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xenogenic Development Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Schroeder, William N., Mann, Joseph Francis
• Primary Examiner(s): Bragdon; Reginald G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Faal; Baboucarr
• Application Number:
  US11/465,951
• Time in Patent Office: 1,772 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 711/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/123 by using dedicated hardware, e.g. dongles, smart cards, cryptographic processors, global positioning systems [GPS] devices

Abstract

A software installation system comprises an interface component that receives a request to access data resident upon a flash memory card. An installation component compares a unique identifier associated with the data with a unique identifier embedded within the flash memory card, and the installation component determines whether to allow access to the data based at least in part upon the comparison. The installation component prohibits access to the data if the unique identifier associated with the data does not match the unique identifier embedded within the flash memory card.

Claims

1. A flash memory card, comprising:

a unique identifier for the flash memory card that is persisted within hardware of the flash memory card, the unique identifier is utilized by an analysis component to generate a corresponding identifier for data to be transferred to the flash memory card; and

a flash memory cell that receives and stores the data and the corresponding identifier from the analysis component, the flash memory cell transfers the data and the corresponding identifier to a requesting entity if authentication is successful,

wherein the authentication includes a first comparison, that employs the corresponding identifier, to allow the data to be at least one of copied, distributed or installed onto the requesting entity,

the requesting entity performs a second comparison between the corresponding identifier and a disparate unique identifier associated with the requesting entity to prohibit the data to be at least one of transferred, viewed or installed from the requesting entity to a disparate entity, without employing the flash memory card,

and the corresponding identifier is at least one of identical to, a hash of, or an encrypted version of the unique identifier persisted within the hardware of the flash memory card.

2. The flash memory card of claim 1, wherein the corresponding identifier is placed within a header associated with the data.

3. The flash memory card of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of flash memory cells that retain the data.

4. The flash memory card of claim 3, wherein the plurality of flash memory cells further comprise a security access key that is associated with the data, which is employed for authentication during transfer of the data from the flash memory card.

5. The flash memory card of claim 1, wherein the data is a software application.

6. The flash memory card of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier is a serial number of the flash memory card.

7. A system that facilitates reduction of piracy of data, comprising following components stored in a memory:

a receiver component that receives a request to transfer data to a flash memory card; and

an analysis component that determines a unique identifier that is permanently embedded within hardware of the flash memory card, associates the data to be transferred to the flash memory card with a corresponding identifier that is at least one of identical to, a hash of, or an encrypted version of the unique identifier and transitions the corresponding identifier attached with the data to the flash memory card,

wherein the unique identifier and the corresponding identifier are compared to facilitate authentication when the data is at least one of copied to, transferred to or installed on a first device from the flash memory card, and,

after the data is at least one of copied to, transferred to or installed on the first device, the corresponding identifier is compared with a disparate identifier, embedded within hardware of the first device, to prohibit at least one of transfer, viewing or installation of the data on a second device from the first device, without utilizing the flash memory drive.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the corresponding identifier is placed within a header associated with the data transitioned to the flash memory card.

9. The system of claim 7, further comprising a hashing component that generates the hash of the unique identifier embedded within hardware of the flash memory card and inserts the hash of the unique identifier into the data stored within the flash memory card.

10. The system of claim 7, further comprising an encryption component that generates the encrypted version of the unique identifier and encrypts the data prior to the data being transitioned to the flash memory card.

11. The system of claim 7, further comprising a transaction component that records a transaction associated with the data, stores the transaction on the flash memory card, and associates the transaction with the unique identifier.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the unique identifier is a serial number of the flash memory card.

13. An industrial automation device including a combination controller and human-machine interface (CHMI) comprising the system of claim 7.

14. A software installation system, comprising following components stored in a memory:

an interface component that receives a request from a first computing device to access data resident upon a flash memory card; and

an installation component that, in response to the request, determines an identifier associated with the data and a unique identifier associated with the flash memory card, the unique identifier is permanently embedded within hardware of the flash memory card and cannot be programmatically altered, the installation component compares the identifier with the unique identifier and at least one of transfers, copies or installs the data and the identifier associated with the data onto the first computing device if the comparison indicates that a predetermined relationship is satisfied, the predetermined relationship includes the identifier being at least one identical to, a hash of, or an encrypted version of the unique identifier,

wherein the installation component denies distribution of the data from the first computing device to at least one second computing device, without utilizing the flash memory card, based in part on a disparate comparison between the identifier and a first identifier associated with the first computing device, the disparate comparison indicates that the data resides outside the flash memory card.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the interface component receives a request to install software on the first computing device, the software is resident upon the flash memory card, and the installation component determines whether to allow the software to be installed on the first computing device based at least in part upon the comparison.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the installation component prohibits access to the data if the data is residing in a device that is disparate from the flash memory card based on an evaluation of the unique identifier associated with the data and a disparate unique identifier embedded within a hardware of the device.

17. The system of claim 14, further comprising a security key analysis component that is communicatively coupled to the installation component, the security key analysis component ensures that an initiator of the request has knowledge of security keys prior to the installation component allowing access to the data.

18. The system of claim 14, further comprising a transaction component that records a transaction when the data is accessed and associates the transaction with a unique identifier that corresponds to the unique identifier within the hardware.

19. The system of claim 14, further comprising a transaction component that analyzes transactions associated with the flash memory card and determines whether to allow access to the data based at least in part upon the analysis.

20. An industrial automation device including a combination controller and human-machine interface (CHMI) comprising the system of claim 14.

21. A method for tying data to a flash memory card, comprising:

permanently embedding a unique identifier into hardware;

associating the hardware with flash memory;

encapsulating the flash memory and the hardware into a common housing to form the flash memory card, the unique identifier identifies the flash memory card;

storing data in the flash memory along with a corresponding identifier associated with the data, the corresponding identifier bears a predetermined relationship with the unique identifier, wherein the predetermined relationship includes the corresponding identifier being at least one of an identical copy of, a hash of, or an encrypted version of the unique identifier embedded into hardware of the flash memory card;

at least one of copying or moving the data from the flash memory, to a first device, in response to a comparison between the unique identifier and the corresponding identifier indicating that the predetermined relationship is satisfied;

determining that the data resides within the first device based in part on an analysis of the corresponding identifier and a disparate unique identifier associated with the first device; and

prohibiting transfer of the data from the first device to a second device without employing the flash memory card, in response to determining that the data resides within the first device.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the permanently embedding includes permanently embedding a serial number of the flash memory card into the hardware.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising placing the corresponding identifier in a header associated with the data.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the determining that the data resides within the first device includes comparing the disparate unique identifier and the corresponding identifier, and identifying that the predetermined relationship is not satisfied by the disparate unique identifier and the corresponding identifier.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising storing a security access key that is associated with the data within the flash memory.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the encapsulating includes encapsulating the flash memory and the hardware into a common housing to form a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory card.

27. A method for determining whether to allow access to data on a flash memory card, comprising:

receiving a first request from a first device to access data that is resident upon the flash memory card;

determining a unique identifier that is permanently embedded within hardware of the flash memory card;

determining a unique identifier, associated with the data, that is generated by employing the unique identifier that is permanently embedded within hardware of the flash memory card;

identifying that the data resides within the flash memory card by comparing the unique identifier that is permanently embedded within hardware of the flash memory card with the unique identifier that is associated with the data resident upon the flash memory card;

at least one of transferring or installing the data on the first device, in response to the comparison indicating that the unique identifier permanently embedded within hardware of the flash memory card bears a predetermined relationship with the unique identifier associated with the data resident upon the flash memory card;

receiving, at the first device, a second request from a second device to access the data that is at least one of transferred or installed on the first device;

identifying that the data resides outside the flash memory card by comparing a first unique identifier that is permanently embedded within hardware of the first device with the unique identifier that is associated with the data; and

prohibiting at least one of a transfer or installation of the data from the first device to the second device, without utilizing the flash memory card for the at least one of the transfer or installation, if the data resides outside the flash memory card,

wherein the predetermined relationship includes the compared identifiers being at least one of an identical copy of, a hash of, or an encrypted version of each other.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising, communicatively coupling the flash memory card to the second device to provide the second device access to the data from the flash memory card.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising decrypting the unique identifier that is associated with the data.

30. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution by a system, cause the system to perform operations, comprising:

receiving a request to install a software on a first device, the software resides within a flash memory card;

installing the software on the first device based on a comparison of a unique identifier permanently embedded within hardware of the flash memory card with a unique identifier that is associated with the software resident upon the flash memory card, wherein the unique identifier permanently embedded within hardware is at least one of an identical copy of, a hash of, or an encrypted version of the unique identifier that is associated with the software;

in response to a request from a second device to the first device, comparing the unique identifier that is associated with the software with a disparate unique identifier permanently embedded within hardware of the first device; and

denying installation of the software from the first device onto a second device based on the comparing, if the flash memory card is not utilized for at least one of the installation or a transfer of the software from the first device to the second device.