Method and system for secure booting a computer by booting a first operating system from a secure peripheral device and launching a second operating system stored a secure area in the secure peripheral device on the first operating system

• US 8,745,365 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2009
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kingston Digital, Inc. (Kingston Technology Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Imation Corporation (Glassbridge Enterprises, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jevans, David, Spencer, Gil, Smith, Eric R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen, Xuxing
• Application Number:
  US12/537,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20110035574A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,762 Days
• Field of Search: 713/2
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45575 Starting, stopping, suspending or resuming virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/575 Secure boot
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4406 Loading of operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects

Abstract

An operating system is booted from a secure peripheral device on a host computer. The secure peripheral device, which includes a memory, is communicatively coupled with the with the host computer. A first operating system is booted from the memory of the secure peripheral device. A secondary operating system is launched on the first operating system.

Claims

1. A method for booting an operating system from a secure peripheral device on a host computer, the method comprising:

communicatively coupling the secure peripheral device with the host computer, the secure peripheral device comprising a controller and memory maintaining a first operating system, a virtual machine player instance, an unlocker module, and in a secure area a secondary operating system image;

executing said unlocker module by said controller, said host computer being able to read said secondary operating system image only after executing the unlocker module by said controller to unlock the secure area;

booting said first operating system from the memory of the secure peripheral device; and

after executing said unlocker module and unlocking said secure area, launching said secondary operating system image on the first operating system, wherein the virtual machine player instance is launched on the first operating system to run a virtual machine image on the host computer;

wherein the first operating system is no longer running after launching the secondary operating system image; and

wherein the first operating system communicates over a network to a third-party server to request permission for the secure peripheral device to unlock the secure area of the secure peripheral device memory and run the secondary operating system image.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the secure peripheral device memory comprises non-volatile memory.

3. The method of claim 1, said virtual machine image being only capable of being executed by said virtual machine player instance.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein launching the secondary operating system image comprises launching an emulation of a virtual machine.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a password entered by a user, using said password by said unlocker module, and, if the password is correct unlocking the secure area of the memory of the secure peripheral device before launching the secondary operating system image.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein booting the first operating system from the memory of the secure peripheral device comprises booting the first operating system from an area of the memory of the secure peripheral device, the area of memory being unwritable to a user.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a secure channel between the secure peripheral device and a server, said secure channel having the effect that said host computer cannot read messages exchanged between said secure peripheral device and said server.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first operating system is maintained in an unsecure area of the memory of the secure peripheral device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first operating system is a host operating system.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the host operating system is stored on the secure peripheral device and runs on the host computer.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual machine image is stored in the memory of the secure peripheral device, the virtual machine image comprising the secondary operating system image.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the virtual machine image is specifically node-locked to the virtual machine player instance, said virtual machine image being only capable of being executed by said virtual machine player instance.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual machine player instance is launched from the secure area of the memory of the secure peripheral device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual machine player instance is launched from an unsecure area of the memory of the secure peripheral device.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual machine player instance has associated therewith the virtual machine image, wherein the virtual machine image runs from the secure area of the memory of the secure peripheral device.

16. A method as in claim 1, including steps of exchanging messages between said secondary operating system image and a server, in such manner that said host computer is unable to read said messages.

17. A method as in claim 1, wherein said controller is capable of encryption and decryption of information exchanged with a server.

18. A method for booting an operating system from a secure peripheral device on a host computer, the method comprising:

communicatively coupling the secure peripheral device with the host computer, the secure peripheral device comprising a controller and memory maintaining a first operating system, a virtual machine player instance, an unlocker module, and in a secure area a secondary operating system image;

executing said unlocker module by said controller, said host computer being able to read said secondary operating system image only after executing the unlocker module by said controller to unlock the secure area;

booting said first operating system from the memory of the secure peripheral device; and

after executing said unlocker module and unlocking said secure area, launching said secondary operating system image on the first operating system, wherein the virtual machine player instance is launched on the first operating system to run a virtual machine image on the host computer;

wherein the first operating system is no longer running after launching the secondary operating system image;

wherein booting the first operating system from the memory of the secure peripheral device comprises booting the first operating system from an area of the memory of the secure peripheral device, the area of memory emulating a CD-ROM; and

wherein a CD-ROM image presented by the secure peripheral device is encrypted, except for a master boot record and a pre-boot operating system which requests a password from the user, and if the password is correct, then decrypts the first operating system and continues a boot process for said booting of said first operating system.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein a CD-ROM image is presented to the host computer by the secure peripheral device, and the CD-ROM image is configured for the first operating system to be bootable by the host computer.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein a CD-ROM image is presented to the host computer by the secure peripheral device, and the CD-ROM image contains a master boot record.

21. A system for booting an operating system from a secure peripheral device on a host computer, the system comprising:

a secure peripheral device comprising a controller and memory maintaining a first operating system executable by the processor to launch a computer program, a virtual machine player instance, an unlocker module executable by the controller, and in a secure area a secondary operating system image; and

a host computer configured to run the first operating system by booting said first operating system from the memory of the secure peripheral device, the host computer communicatively coupled with the secure peripheral device, said host computer being able to read said secondary operating system image only after executing said unlocker module by said controller to unlock the secure area; and

the secondary operating system image executable by the host computer by launching said secondary operating system image on the first operating system after executing said unlocker module and unlocking said secure area, wherein the virtual machine player instance is launched on the first operating system to run a virtual machine image on the host computer;

wherein the first operating system is no longer running after launching the secondary operating system image; and

wherein the first operating system communicates over a network to a third-party server to request permission for the secure peripheral device to unlock the secure area of the secure peripheral device memory and run the secondary operating system image.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the secondary operating system image comprises the virtual machine image.

23. The system of claim 21, said virtual machine image being only capable of being executed by said virtual machine player instance.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer program comprises the unlocker module.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the unlocker module is configured to unlock the secure area of the peripheral device memory and launch the secondary operating system image.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the first operating system is maintained in an area of the memory of the secure peripheral device that is unwritable to a user.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein:

the virtual machine image comprises the secondary operating system image; and

the computer program is configured to launch the virtual machine player instance on the first operating system.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the memory of the secure peripheral device comprises an unsecure area.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the computer program is configured to launch the virtual machine player instance from an unsecure area of the memory of the secure peripheral device.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein the computer program is configured to launch the virtual machine player instance from the secure area of the memory of the secure peripheral device.

31. The system of claim 27, wherein an unsecure area of the memory of the secure peripheral device maintains the unlocking module configured to unlock the secure area of the memory of the secure peripheral device.

32. The system of claim 27, wherein the secondary operating system image is configured to run applications that are native to the first operating system.

33. The system of claim 27, wherein the secondary operating system image is configured to run applications that are not native to the first operating system.

34. The system of claim 27, wherein the virtual machine image is specifically node-locked to the virtual machine player instance, said virtual machine image being only capable of being executed by said virtual machine player instance.

35. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code embodied thereon, the program code executable by a processor to perform a method for booting an operating system from a secure peripheral device on a host computer, the method comprising:

communicatively coupling the secure peripheral device with the host computer, the secure peripheral device comprising a controller and memory maintaining a first operating system, a virtual machine player instance, and an unlocker module, and in a secure area a secondary operating system image;

executing said unlocker module by said controller, said host computer being able to read said secondary operating system image only after executing the unlocker module by said controller to unlock the secure area;

booting said first operating system from the memory of the secure peripheral device;

after executing said unlocker module and unlocking said secure area, launching said secondary operating system image on the first operating system, wherein said virtual machine player instance is launched on the first operating system to run a virtual machine image on the host computer; and

running, via said virtual machine player instance the virtual machine image on the host computer, said virtual machine image comprising the secondary operating system image;

wherein the first operating system is no longer running after launching the secondary operating system image; and

wherein the first operating system communicates over a network to a third-party server to request permission for the secure peripheral device to unlock the secure area of the secure peripheral device memory and run the secondary operating system image.

36. The medium of claim 35, the method further comprising forming a secure channel between the secure peripheral device and a server, said secure channel having the effect that said host computer cannot read messages exchanged between said secure peripheral device and said server.

37. The medium of claim 36, the method further exchanging messages between said secondary operating system image and said server, said host computer being unable to read said messages.

38. The medium of claim 35, the method further comprising node locking said virtual machine image to said virtual machine player instance, the virtual machine image being only capable of being executed by said virtual machine player instance.