Protecting against use of unauthorized electronic hardware devices

• US 9,081,963 B1
• Filed: 03/01/2010
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marvell Asia Pte Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Original Assignee: Marvell Israel MISL Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Inventors: Sima, Ronen
• Primary Examiner(s): Rashid, Harunur
• Application Number:
  US12/715,184
• Time in Patent Office: 1,961 Days
• Field of Search: 713/189
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/73 by creating or determining hardware identification, e.g. serial numbers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/76 in application-specific integrated circuits [ASIC] or field-programmable devices, e.g. field-programmable gate arrays [FPGA] or programmable logic devices [PLD]

Abstract

Some of the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method comprising acquiring an electrical circuit identifier for an electrical circuit, wherein the electrical circuit identifier is stored in a programmable identifier unit of the electrical circuit; generating, by a computing device external to the electrical circuit, an encrypted identifier that is unique for an electrical device that includes the electrical circuit, wherein the encrypted identifier is based upon the electrical circuit identifier and an encryption block; and storing the encrypted identifier in the programmable identifier unit. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a manufacturer of an electronic device from a manufacturer of a chip, the chip including an electrical circuit, an electrical circuit identifier for the electrical circuit being previously stored by the manufacturer of the chip in a programmable identifier unit of the electrical circuit, the electrical circuit identifier for the electrical circuit acting as a unique identifier for the electrical circuit, the electrical circuit identifier previously stored by the manufacturer of the chip in the programmable identifier unit of the electrical circuit being un-encrypted;

acquiring, by a computing device that is located external to the electrical circuit and that is controlled by the manufacturer of the electronic device, the electrical circuit identifier for the electrical circuit from the programmable identifier unit of the electrical circuit;

generating, by the computing device that is located external to the electrical circuit and that is controlled by the manufacturer of the electronic device, an encrypted identifier that is unique for the electronic device that includes the electrical circuit, wherein the encrypted identifier is generated by encrypting, using a private key of an asymmetrical encryption algorithm, the electrical circuit identifier being acquired from the programmable identifier unit of the electrical circuit; and

storing, by the manufacturer of the electronic device, the encrypted identifier in the programmable identifier unit, to enable (i) verifying, by the SoC, that the encrypted identifier is genuine, and (ii) operating, by the SoC, software stored within the SoC.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating comprises generating the encrypted identifier that, when decoded, provides an indication of whether the encrypted identifier is a genuine encrypted identifier.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the acquiring comprises acquiring an identifier for a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating comprises generating the encrypted identifier with (i) an encryption block provided by the manufacturer of the electronic device and (ii) the electric circuit identifier.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the generating comprises generating the encrypted identifier with (i) the encryption block and (ii) the electric circuit identifier with the asymmetrical encryption algorithm.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the generating comprises generating the encrypted identifier with (i) the encryption block and (ii) the electric circuit identifier with one of Rivest, Shamir and Adleman (RSA) algorithm or Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA).

7. An apparatus comprising:

an electrical circuit, the electrical circuit comprising;

a programmable identifier unit including an electrical circuit identifier, the electrical circuit identifier being previously stored by a manufacturer of a chip in the programmable identifier unit of the electrical circuit, the electrical circuit identifier previously stored by the manufacturer of the chip in the programmable identifier unit of the electrical circuit being un-encrypted, the chip comprising the electrical circuit, the electrical circuit identifier for the electrical circuit acting as a unique identifier for the electrical circuit;

storage that stores system code; and

a processor;

wherein the system code is configured to

cause the processor upon start up of the apparatus to determine whether a genuine encrypted identifier was previously generated for an electronic device that includes the apparatus,

if no genuine encrypted identifier was previously generated for the electronic device, cause the processor to

read the programmable identifier to determine the electrical circuit identifier,

communicate with an external computing device that is located external to the electrical circuit, the external computing device being controlled by a manufacturer of the apparatus, the manufacturer of the apparatus receiving the electrical circuit from the manufacturer of the chip,

receive an encrypted identifier that is unique for the electronic device, wherein the encrypted identifier is generated by the external computing device by encrypting, using a private key of an asymmetrical encryption algorithm, the electrical circuit identifier being read from the programmable identifier unit of the electrical circuit, and

store the encrypted identifier in the programmable identifier unit,

verify that the encrypted identifier stored in the programmable identifier unit is a genuine encrypted identifier, and

based on verifying that the encrypted identifier stored in the programmable identifier unit is genuine, enable further operations of the processor.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the electrical circuit is a system-on-a-chip (SoC) and the electrical circuit identifier is an SoC identifier that indicates production information relating to the SoC.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the programmable identifier unit is a single unit.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the programmable identifier unit comprises multiple units.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the electrical circuit identifier and the encrypted identifier are stored in a single unit.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the electrical circuit identifier and the encrypted identifier are stored in different units.

13. An electronic device comprising a chip that comprises a system-on-chip (SoC), the SoC comprising:

a programmable identifier unit including an SoC identifier, the SoC identifier being previously stored by a manufacturer of the chip in the programmable identifier unit of the SoC, the SoC identifier previously stored by the manufacturer of the chip in the programmable identifier unit of the SoC being un-encrypted, the SoC identifier acting as a unique identifier for the SoC;

storage that stores system code; and

a processor;

wherein the system code is configured to

cause the processor upon start up of the SoC to determine whether a genuine encrypted identifier was previously generated for the electronic device,

if no genuine encrypted identifier was previously generated for the electronic device, cause the processor to

read the programmable identifier to determine the SoC identifier,

communicate with an external computing device located external to the SoC, the external computing device being controlled by a manufacturer of the electronic device, the manufacturer of the electronic device receiving the chip from the manufacturer of the chip,

receive an encrypted identifier that is (i) unique for the electronic device and (ii) is generated by the external computing device by encrypting, using a private key of an asymmetrical encryption algorithm, the SoC identifier being read from the programmable identifier unit of the SoC, and

store the encrypted identifier in the programmable identifier unit,

verify that the encrypted identifier is a genuine encrypted identifier, and

based upon verifying that the encrypted identifier is genuine, enable a further operation of the processor.

14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the programmable identifier unit is a single unit.

15. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the programmable identifier unit comprises multiple units.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the SoC identifier and the encrypted identifier are stored in a single unit.

17. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the SoC identifier and the encrypted identifier are stored in different units.