Gaming machine certificate creation and management

• US 8,386,785 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2008
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Kim, John H., Kerr, Matthew D., Hansen-Hiraki, Nicholas M., Salivar, William M., Cockerille, Warner R. IV, Kinsley, A. Michael, Snyder, Regan J.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEMMA, SAMSON B
• Application Number:
  US12/214,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20090319796A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,714 Days
• Field of Search: 713/158, 713/168, 713175-176, 726/10, 463/29
• US Class Current: 713/175
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/321 involving a third party or a trusted authority
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823

Abstract

Methods and systems for creating and managing certificates for gaming machines in a gaming network using a portable memory device are described. A gaming machine creates a certificate signing request which is stored on a portable memory device at the machine by an operator. The memory device is handed over to a certificate authority (CA) security officer at the casino and is coupled with an appropriate CA server. A certificate batch utility program on the server downloads and processes the CSRs. A certificate services program on the server issues gaming machine certificates according to the CSRs. In one embodiment, the certificates are uploaded onto the memory device, along with copies of certificate authority server certificates, including a root CA certificate. The CA security officer hands the memory device to the casino floor operator. At the machine, the operator inserts or couples the device and software on the machine identifies and downloads its certificate based on the certificate file name. The machine also downloads copies of the CA server certificates which it may use in a certificate chain validation procedure. In another embodiment, the certificates are placed in a shared file on the CA server and retrieved by the gaming machines over a gaming network.

Claims

1. A method of communicating with a server in a gaming network, the method comprising:

transmitting, from a gaming machine configured to execute wager-based games, a gaming machine certificate to the server;

receiving, by the gaming machine, a server certificate from the server;

obtaining, by the gaming machine, a certificate revocation list from a certificate authority, the certificate revocation list including a list of revoked server certificates;

determining, by the gaming machine, whether the certificate authority is trustworthy by verifying that the certificate revocation list is authentic;

determining, by the gaming machine, whether the server certificate is valid by examining the certificate revocation list when it is determined that the certificate authority is trustworthy; and

exchanging, by the gaming machine, a session key with the server over a secure communication channel when it is determined that the server certificate is valid,

wherein the gaming machine has verified its identity to the server.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising obtaining, by the gaming machine, a new gaming machine certificate if a certificate authority private key is lost or compromised.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising obtaining, by the gaming machine, a new gaming machine certificate if a gaming machine private key has one of expired, been erased, or been compromised.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the certificate authority is a secondary certificate authority.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising obtaining, by the gaming machine, the certificate revocation list from a gaming machine secondary certificate authority.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising determining, by the gaming machine, whether the server certificate has expired by determining whether an internal time of the gaming machine is between an issue date and expiration date of the server certificate.

7. A gaming system comprising:

a certificate authority server configured to store a certificate revocation list that includes a list of revoked server certificates;

a communication server;

a gaming machine configured to;

execute wager-based games;

receive a server certificate from the communication server;

receive the certificate revocation list from the certificate authority server, the certificate revocation list including a list of revoked server certificates;

determine whether the certificate authority server is trustworthy by verifying that the certificate revocation list is authentic;

determine whether the server certificate is valid by examining the certificate revocation list when it is determined that the certificate authority is trustworthy; and

exchange a session key with the communication server to establish a secure communication channel in response to the determination that the server certificate is valid.

8. A gaming machine comprising:

a display;

a user input button;

the gaming machine configured to;

execute wager-based games;

receive a server certificate;

receive a certificate revocation list from a certificate authority server, the certificate revocation list including a list of revoked server certificates;

determine whether the certificate authority server is trustworthy by verifying that the certificate revocation list is authentic;

determine whether the server certificate is valid by examining the certificate revocation list when it is determined that the certificate authority is trustworthy; and

exchange a session key with a server to establish a secure communication channel in response to the determination that the server certificate is valid.