Circuit personalization
First Claim
1. A method, performed by an authority, comprising:
- distributing a first generic circuit of a plurality of generic circuits for electronic devices to a first party, the plurality of generic circuits being substantially identical to each other;
receiving a unique first personalization value from the first party;
encrypting the first personalization value, received from the first party, using a first secret encryption key, thereby generating an encrypted first personalization value;
transmitting the encrypted first personalization value to the first party, wherein the first generic circuit is configured to store the transmitted encrypted first personalization value, and to respond to execution of a first piece of software by;
retrieving the stored encrypted first personalization value;
decrypting the retrieved encrypted first personalization value; and
using the decrypted first personalization value to control execution of the first piece of software by the first generic circuit; and
distributing additional generic circuits in which a second secret encryption key is used to encrypt additional personalization values for the additional generic set-top-box circuits.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method distributes personalized circuits to one or more parties. The method distributes a generic circuit to each party, encrypts a unique personalization value using a secret encryption key, and transmits each encrypted personalization value to the corresponding party. Each party then stores the encrypted personalization value in their circuit. The stored encrypted personalization value allows a piece of software to be properly executed by the circuit. A semiconductor integrated circuit is arranged to execute a piece of software that inputs a personalization value as an input parameter. The circuit comprises a personalization memory arranged to store an encrypted personalization value; a key memory for storing a decryption key; a control unit comprising a cryptographic circuit arranged to decrypt the encrypted personalization value using the decryption key; and a processor arranged to receive the decrypted personalization value and execute the software using the decrypted personalization value.
35 Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method, performed by an authority, comprising:
distributing a first generic circuit of a plurality of generic circuits for electronic devices to a first party, the plurality of generic circuits being substantially identical to each other; receiving a unique first personalization value from the first party; encrypting the first personalization value, received from the first party, using a first secret encryption key, thereby generating an encrypted first personalization value; transmitting the encrypted first personalization value to the first party, wherein the first generic circuit is configured to store the transmitted encrypted first personalization value, and to respond to execution of a first piece of software by; retrieving the stored encrypted first personalization value; decrypting the retrieved encrypted first personalization value; and using the decrypted first personalization value to control execution of the first piece of software by the first generic circuit; and distributing additional generic circuits in which a second secret encryption key is used to encrypt additional personalization values for the additional generic set-top-box circuits. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4, 6, 44)
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3. The method of 1 in which a plurality of personalization values are received from the first party for personalizing a plurality of generic circuits.
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5. A method, comprising:
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distributing a first generic circuit of a plurality of generic circuits to a first party, the plurality of generic circuits being substantially identical to each other; receiving a unique first personalization value from the first party; encrypting the first personalization value, received from the first party, using a first secret encryption key, thereby generating an encrypted first personalization value; transmitting the encrypted first personalization value to the first party, wherein the first generic circuit is configured to store the transmitted encrypted first personalization value, and to respond to execution of a first piece of software by; retrieving the stored encrypted first personalization value; decrypting the retrieved encrypted first personalization value; and using the decrypted first personalization value to control execution of the first piece of software by the first generic circuit; and distributing additional generic circuits to the first party in which the encryption key used to encrypt additional personalization values for the additional generic circuits distributed to the first party is changed periodically.
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7. A method for personalizing a circuit performed by a distributor of electronic devices, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a first generic circuit of a plurality of generic circuits, the plurality of generic circuits being substantially identical to each other; transmitting a first personalization value to an authority; receiving the first personalization value in an encrypted form from the authority, the first personalization value having been encrypted using a first secret encryption key associated with the authority; storing the encrypted first personalization value in the first generic circuit, wherein the first generic circuit is configured to retrieve the stored encrypted first personalization value, decrypt the retrieved encrypted first personalization value and to use the decrypted first personalization value to control proper execution of a first piece of software; receiving a second generic circuit of the plurality; transmitting a second personalization value to the authority; and receiving the second personalization value in an encrypted form from the authority, the second personalization value having been encrypted using a second secret encryption key associated with the authority. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of distributing generic circuits for electronic devices, comprising:
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distributing a first generic circuit of a plurality of generic circuits to a first party, the plurality of generic circuits being substantially identical; transmitting a first personalization value from the first party to an authority; encrypting the first personalization value using a first secret encryption key associated with the authority; transmitting the encrypted first personalization value from the authority to the first party; storing the encrypted first personalization value in the first generic circuit; obtaining a decrypted first personalization value by using the first generic circuit to retrieve and decrypt the stored encrypted first personalization value; executing using the first generic circuit, a first piece of software using the decrypted first personalization value; and distributing additional generic circuits in which a second secret encryption key associated with the authority is used to encrypt additional personalization values for the additional generic circuits. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A semiconductor integrated circuit arranged to execute a piece of software that inputs a personalization value as an input parameter, the circuit being configured to use in an electronic device and comprising:
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a personalization memory configured to store an encrypted personalization value generated by an authority based on the personalization value; a key memory configured to store a decryption key; a personalization control unit comprising a cryptographic circuit configured to obtain a decrypted personalization value by retrieving and decrypting the stored encrypted personalization value using the decryption key; and a processor configured to receive the decrypted personalization value from the cryptographic circuit, to execute the software and to supply the software with the decrypted personalization value. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. An electronic device, comprising:
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a memory configured to store a piece of software that inputs a decrypted personalization value as an input parameter; and a semiconductor integrated circuit configured to provide the piece of software with the decrypted personalization value, the circuit comprising; a personalization memory configured to store an encrypted personalization value generated by an authority based on the personalization value which is provided to the authority; a key memory configured to store a decryption key; and a personalization control unit comprising a cryptographic circuit configured to obtain the decrypted personalization value by retrieving the stored encrypted personalization value and decrypting the retrieved encrypted personalization value using the decryption key. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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38. A non-transitory computer-readable memory medium whose contents cause an electronic device to perform a method, the method comprising:
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receiving a first personalization value in an encrypted form from an authority, the first personalization value having been encrypted using a secret encryption key associated with the authority; storing the encrypted first personalization value; retrieving the stored encrypted first personalization value; decrypting the retrieved encrypted first personalization value to obtain the first personalization value; and controlling execution of a first piece of software based on the decrypted first personalization value. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40)
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41. An electronic device, comprising:
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means for receiving a first personalization value in an encrypted form from an authority, the first personalization value having been encrypted using a secret encryption key associated with the authority; means for storing the encrypted first personalization value; means for retrieving and decrypting the stored encrypted first personalization value to obtain the first personalization value; and means for controlling execution of a first piece of software based on the decrypted first personalization value. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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Specification