Self-protecting digital content

• US 7,996,913 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Irdeto USA Incorporated (MultiChoice Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Rovi Solutions Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Jun, Benjamin Che-Ming, Lawson, Nathaniel James, Pearson, Peter Kelley, Kocher, Paul Carl, Jaffe, Joshua Michael, Laren, Carter Cyrus
• Primary Examiner(s): Popham; Jeffrey D
• Application Number:
  US11/981,977
• Publication Number:
  US 20080133938A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,378 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/50 Monitoring users, programs or devices to maintain the integrity of platforms, e.g. of processors, firmware or operating systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6281 at program execution time, where the protection is within the operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/78 to assure secure storage of data address-based protection against unauthorised use of memory G06F12/14; record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00
• 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: G11B 20/00115 wherein the record carrier stores a unique medium identifier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0021 involving encryption or decryption of contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00231 wherein the key is obtained from a local external medium, e.g. a card
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00246 wherein the key is obtained from a local device, e.g. device key initially stored by the player or by the recorder
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00253 wherein the key is stored on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00449 content scrambling system [CSS]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00659 involving a control step which is implemented as an executable file stored on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00818 wherein the usage restriction limits the signal quality, e.g. by low-pass filtering of audio signals or by reducing the resolution of video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00884 involving a watermark, i.e. a barely perceptible transformation of the original data which can nevertheless be recognised by an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/606 Traitor tracing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3249 using RSA or related signature schemes, e.g. Rabin scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91342 the copy protection signal being an authentication signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25816 : involving client authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 : external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4181 : for conditional access
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42646 : for reading from or writing on a non-volatile solid state storage medium, e.g. DVD, CD-ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 : involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44236 : Monitoring of piracy processes or activities protecting computer platforms against harmful, malicious or unexpected behaviour or activities using intrusion detection and counter measures G06F21/566; computer virus detection and handling G06F21/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 : involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 : Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

Technologies are disclosed to transfer responsibility and control over security from player makers to content authors by enabling integration of security logic and content. An exemplary optical disc carries an encrypted digital video title combined with data processing operations that implement the title'"'"'s security policies and decryption processes. Player devices include a processing environment (e.g., a real-time virtual machine), which plays content by interpreting its processing operations. Players also provide procedure calls to enable content code to load data from media, perform network communications, determine playback environment configurations, access secure nonvolatile storage, submit data to CODECs for output, and/or perform cryptographic operations. Content can insert forensic watermarks in decoded output for tracing pirate copies. If pirates compromise a player or title, future content can be mastered with security features that, for example, block the attack, revoke pirated media, or use native code to correct player vulnerabilities.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

using a processor in a media player to receive data including digital content and data processing instructions packaged with the digital content, the received data being storable in a volatile memory of the media player;

executing the data processing instructions from the volatile memory by using a computer language interpreter of the media player, the data processing instructions, when executed by the computer language interpreter, configuring the computer language interpreter to;

interrogate a playback environment of the media player, the received data processing instructions further configured to perform a security check that interrogates the playback environment of the media player, the received data processing instructions further configured to reduce output quality if a result of the interrogation of the playback environment is uncertain;

query one or more cryptographic primitives stored in a non-volatile memory of the media player, the cryptographic primitives being resident in the media player prior to receipt of the received data, the cryptographic primitives including cryptographic data and executable instructions for performing cryptographic operations, the computer language interpreter not having access to the non-volatile memory in which the cryptographic primitives are stored, the cryptographic operations including operations for decrypting the received data; and

request execution of a cryptographic operation by the cryptographic primitives, the cryptographic operation including computing a cryptographic hash of at least a portion of the received data, the computer language interpreter using the cryptographic hash in playing the digital content.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 including using the processor in the media player to initialize a media interface for receiving the data.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 including configuring the computer language interpreter to query an output interface of the media player.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 including configuring the computer language interpreter to determine a playback environment configuration in the media player.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 including configuring the computer language interpreter to load cryptographic keys.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 including configuring the computer language interpreter to request a decryption key from the cryptographic primitives.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 including configuring the computer language interpreter to use a decryption key to decrypt the digital content for playback on the media player.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 including configuring the computer language interpreter to use a digital signature to unlock a portion of the non-volatile memory.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 including configuring the computer language interpreter to use the cryptographic hash to validate the digital content.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1 including configuring the computer language interpreter to use the cryptographic hash to validate the data processing instructions.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a volatile memory;

a non-volatile memory;

a processor to receive data including digital content and data processing instructions packaged with the digital content, the received data being storable in the volatile memory; and

a computer language interpreter, executable by the processor, to process the data processing instructions from the volatile memory, the data processing instructions, when executed by the computer language interpreter, configuring the computer language interpreter to;

interrogate a playback environment of the apparatus, the received data processing instructions further configured to perform a security check that interrogates the playback environment of the apparatus, the received data processing instructions further configured to reduce output quality if a result of the interrogation of the playback environment is uncertain;

query one or more cryptographic primitives stored in the non-volatile memory, the cryptographic primitives being resident in the media player prior to receipt of the received data, the cryptographic primitives including cryptographic data and executable instructions for performing cryptographic operations, the computer language interpreter not having access to the non-volatile memory in which the cryptographic primitives are stored, the cryptographic operations including operations for decrypting the received data; and

request execution of a cryptographic operation by the cryptographic primitives, the cryptographic operation including computing a cryptographic hash of at least a portion of the received data, the computer language interpreter using the cryptographic hash in playing the digital content.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 including a media interface, the processor being configured to initialize the media interface for receiving the data.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 including an output interface, the computer language interpreter being configured to query the output interface.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, the computer language interpreter being configured to determine a playback environment configuration in the apparatus.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, the computer language interpreter being configured to load cryptographic keys.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, the computer language interpreter being configured to request a decryption key from the cryptographic primitives.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, the computer language interpreter being configured to use a decryption key to decrypt the digital content for playback.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, the computer language interpreter being configured to use a digital signature to unlock a portion of the non-volatile memory.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, the computer language interpreter being configured to use the cryptographic hash to validate the digital content.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, the computer language interpreter being configured to use the cryptographic hash to validate the data processing instructions.

21. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having machine executable instructions embedded thereon, which when executed by a processor in a media player, cause the media player to:

receive data at the media player, the received data including digital content and data processing instructions packaged with the digital content, the received data being storable in a volatile memory of the media player;

execute the data processing instructions from the volatile memory by using a computer language interpreter of the media player, the data processing instructions, when executed by the computer language interpreter, configuring the computer language interpreter to;

interrogate a playback environment of the media player, the received data processing instructions further configured to perform a security check that interrogates the playback environment of the media player, the received data processing instructions further configured to reduce output quality if a result of the interrogation of the playback environment is uncertain;

query one or more cryptographic primitives stored in a non-volatile memory of the media player, the cryptographic primitives being resident in the media player prior to receipt of the received data, the cryptographic primitives including cryptographic data and executable instructions for performing cryptographic operations, the computer language interpreter not having access to the non-volatile memory in which the cryptographic primitives are stored, the cryptographic operations including operations for decrypting the received data; and

request execution of a cryptographic operation by the cryptographic primitives, the cryptographic operation including computing a cryptographic hash of at least a portion of the received data, the computer language interpreter using the cryptographic hash in playing the digital content.

22. The article of manufacture as claimed in claim 21, the program instructions being configured to initialize a media interface for receiving the data.

23. The article of manufacture as claimed in claim 21, the program instructions being configured to cause the computer language interpreter to query an output interface of the media player.