Unique identifier per chip for digital audio/video data encryption/decryption in personal video recorders

• US 8,705,733 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2010
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CSR Technology Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CSR Technology Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kumar, Nishit, Auld, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Cervetti, David Garcia
• Application Number:
  US12/945,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20110058669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,257 Days
• Field of Search: 380/210, 380/200, 380/44, 726/26
• US Class Current: 380/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/30 Authentication, i.e. establishing the identity or authorisation of security principals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/602 Providing cryptographic facilities or services
• 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 21/73 by creating or determining hardware identification, e.g. serial numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0866 involving user or device identifiers, e.g. serial number, physical or biometrical information, DNA, hand-signature or measurable physical characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/088 Usage controlling of secret information, e.g. techniques for restricting cryptographic keys to pre-authorized uses, different access levels, validity of crypto-period, different key- or password length, or different strong and weak cryptographic algorithms network architectures or network communication protocols for using time-dependent keys in a packet data network H04L63/068
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91364 the video signal being scrambled
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4108 characterised by an identification number or address, e.g. local network address protecting specific internal or external computer components using identification number G06F21/73; network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4408 involving video stream encryption, e.g. re-encrypting a decrypted video stream for redistribution in a home network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 for scrambling ; for copy protection

Abstract

The invention provides techniques to implement unique identifier for an integrated chip and how this ID can be employed to enhance the security of content in personal video recorder type systems. The storage device can be a hard disk, a removable storage medium or any other type of storage medium. An integrated circuit (IC) within the personal video recorder stores a unique identifier that is used in for encryption and decryption of data stored on the storage device. Several embodiments are disclosed herein that maintain the secrecy of the unique ID such that it is not easily accessible thereby defeating the security scheme.

Claims

1. An apparatus for processing audio/video content, comprising:

a control circuit that is arranged to derive an ID associated with an audio/video system from a combination of at least one unique system value of one or more hardware components of the audio/video system and at least one unique system value of one or more software components of the audio/video system, wherein if a length of the ID is less than a predetermined length of a key for cryptographic operations, employing a plurality of unique system values to adjust the ID length to be equivalent to the key length; and

a memory for storing the ID, wherein the ID is operative as the key that is directly used by the control circuit to enable performing both encryption and decryption cryptographic operations on the audio/video content to be sent from and retrieved by the audio/video system.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises at least one of the following:

a ROM, a DDR, an SDRAM, and an EEPROM.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is further arranged to send encrypted audio/video content to a storage device and retrieve encrypted audio/video content from the storage device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control circuit further comprises an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control circuit and the memory are manufactured on different die.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one unique system value of the one or more hardware components comprises one or more serial numbers associated with the one or more hardware components.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is further arranged to receive from a removable medium another key encrypted using the ID;

decrypt the other key using the ID; and

use the other key to encrypt the audio/video content to be stored on a storage device.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is further arranged to receive the audio/video content over a secure communications medium.

9. An apparatus for processing audio/video content, comprising:

a memory for storing an ID associated with an audio/video system; and

a control circuit that is coupled with the memory on a single integrated circuit package, the control circuit is arranged to derive the ID from a combination of at least one unique system value of one or more hardware components of the audio/video system and at least one unique system value of one or more software components of the audio/video system, wherein the ID is operative as a key that is directly used by the control circuit to enable performing both encryption and decryption cryptographic operations on the audio/video content to be sent from and retrieved by the audio/video system, and wherein if a length of the ID is less than a predetermined length of a key for cryptographic operations, employing a plurality of unique system values to adjust the ID length to be equivalent to the key length.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control circuit and the memory are manufactured on a common die.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the memory comprises at least one of the following:

a ROM, a DDR, an SDRAM, and an EEPROM.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control circuit is further arranged to send encrypted audio/video content to a storage device and retrieve encrypted audio/video content from the storage device.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control circuit further comprises an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one unique system value of one or more hardware components comprises one or more serial numbers associated with the one or more one hardware components.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control circuit is further arranged to receive from a removable medium another key encrypted using the ID;

decrypt the other key using the ID; and

use the other key to encrypt the audio/video content to be stored on a storage device.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control circuit is further arranged to receive the audio/video content over a secure communications medium.

17. A processor readable non-transitory storage media that includes a plurality of executable instructions, wherein the execution of the instructions enables operations for processing audio/video content, the operations comprising:

storing in a memory an ID associated with an audio/video system;

employing a control circuit to derive the ID based on a combination of at least one unique system value of one or more hardware components of the audio/video system and at least one unique system value of one or more software components of the audio/video system, wherein if a length of the ID is less than a predetermined length of a key for cryptographic operations, employing a plurality of unique system values to adjust the ID length to be equivalent to the key length; and

employing the control circuit to directly use the derived ID that is operative as the key to enable performing both encryption and decryption cryptographic operations on the audio/video content to be sent from and retrieved by the audio/video system.

18. The processor readable non-transitory storage media of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

storing the encrypted audio/video content on a storage device; and

retrieving the encrypted audio/video content from the storage device.

19. The processor readable non-transitory storage media of claim 17, wherein the at least one unique system value of one or more hardware component comprises one or more serial numbers associated with the one or more hardware component.

20. The processor readable non-transitory storage media of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving from a removable medium another key encrypted using the ID;

decrypting the other key using the ID; and

using the other key to encrypt the audio/video content to be stored on a storage device.