Methods for secure restoration of personal identity credentials into electronic devices

• US 9,160,537 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2013
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Abdallah, David S., Johnson, Barry W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gergiso, Techane
• Application Number:
  US13/932,642
• Publication Number:
  US 20130290726A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 713/176, 713/186, 382/115, 340/5.8
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/06 for supporting key management in a packet data network cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management H04L9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0894 Escrow, recovery or storing of secret information, e.g. secret key escrow or cryptographic key storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/30 Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert or user's encryption keys not requiring secrecy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3231 Biological data, e.g. fingerprint, voice or retina network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using biometrical features in a packet data network H04L63/0861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• 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

A method and system for securely enrolling personal identity credentials into personal identification devices. The system of the invention comprises the manufacturer of the device and an enrollment authority. The manufacturer is responsible for recording serial numbers or another unique identifier for each device that it produces, along with a self-generated public key for each device. The enrollment authority is recognized by the manufacturer or another suitable institution as capable of validating an individual before enrolling him into the device. The enrollment authority maintains and operates the appropriate equipment for enrollment, and provides its approval of the enrollment. The methods described herein discuss post-manufacturing, enrollment, backup, and recovery processes for the device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a personal identification device, an encrypted first section and a decrypted second section of a biometric encryption key, wherein the second section includes a digital signature, the second section having been decrypted by a server using a private key associated with the server and the digital signature having been decrypted by the server using a public key associated with a second personal identification device;

verifying, by the personal identification device, a validity of the digital signature using the public key associated with the second personal identification device;

decrypting, by the personal identification device, the encrypted first section of the biometric encryption key; and

combining, by the personal identification device, the first section of the biometric encryption key and the second section of the biometric encryption key to restore the biometric encryption key when the validity of the signature is verified.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

before the receiving, sending the digital signature in encrypted form to the server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the biometric encryption key is a symmetric key.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the private key associated with the server is the private key of a first asymmetric key pair, the first asymmetric key pair being associated with the server; and

the public key associated with the personal identification device is the public key of a second asymmetric key pair, the second asymmetric key pair being associated with the personal identification device.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein a server comprises one of:

a manufacturer server, an enrollment authority server, a system controller, certificate authority, or other trusted authority.

6. A method, comprising:

decrypting, by a server, a section of a symmetric key containing a digital signature in encrypted form, using a private key associated with the server, the section of the symmetric key being less than an entirety of the symmetric key;

decrypting, by the server, the digital signature of the decrypted section of the symmetric key using a public key of a personal identification device to produce the decrypted section of the symmetric key including the decrypted digital signature; and

sending, by the server, the decrypted section of the symmetric key, including the decrypted digital signature, to a second personal identification device.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

before the decrypting the digital signature in encrypted form, receiving the digital signature in encrypted form from the personal identification device.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

before the decrypting the section of the symmetric key in encrypted form, receiving the section of the symmetric key in encrypted form from the personal identification device.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the symmetric key is configured to decrypt biometric data in encrypted form.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the sending the digital signature is performed such that the second personal identification device verifies a validity of the server when the digital signature in decrypted form is received by the second personal identification device.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the symmetric key is a biometric encryption and decryption key, the section of the biometric encryption and decryption key is a first section of the biometric encryption and decryption key, the biometric encryption and decryption key having been split into the first section and a second section after encryption of a biometric at the personal identification device.

12. A method, comprising:

decrypting, by a server, a section of a first symmetric key in encrypted form containing a digital signature, the decrypting based on a private key of the server, to produce the section of the first symmetric key in decrypted form, the section of the first symmetric key in decrypted form being less than an entirety of the first symmetric key, the private key being associated with a server;

after the decrypting the section of the first symmetric key in encrypted form, sending the section of the first symmetric key in decrypted form, and sending the remainder of the entirety of the first symmetric key in encrypted form, to a personal identification device, the first symmetric key associated with biometric data for the personal identification device;

decrypting, by a server, a section of a second symmetric key in encrypted form containing a digital signature, the decrypting based on the private key of the server, to produce the section of the second symmetric key in decrypted form, the section of the second symmetric key in decrypted form being less than an entirety of the second symmetric key; and

after the decrypting the section of the second symmetric key in encrypted form, sending the section of the second symmetric key in decrypted form, and the remainder of the entirety of the second symmetric key in encrypted form, to the personal identification device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

before the decrypting the section of the first symmetric key in encrypted form, receiving the section of the first symmetric key in encrypted form from the personal identification device.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

before the decrypting the section of the second symmetric key in encrypted form, receiving the section of the second symmetric key in encrypted form from the personal identification device.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

decrypting a digital signature in encrypted form associated with the section of the first symmetric key based on the private key of the server to produce the digital signature in decrypted form associated with the section of the first symmetric key, the sending the section of the first symmetric key in decrypted form to the personal identification device including sending the digital signature in decrypted form to the second personal identification device such that the second personal identification device verifies a validity of the server when the digital signature is received by the personal identification device.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the first symmetric key is configured to decrypt the biometric data in encrypted form.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the second symmetric key is configured to decrypt personal identity credential in encrypted form for the personal identification device.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the personal identification device is a first personal identification device, the biometric data previously being stored on a second personal identification device.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the decrypting the section of the first symmetric key in encrypted form is performed before the decrypting the section of the second symmetric key in encrypted form.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the section of the second symmetric key is a first section of the second symmetric key, the sending the first section of the second symmetric key is performed such that the personal identification device combines the first section of the second symmetric key with a second section of the second symmetric key to restore the second symmetric key associated with the personal identity credential for the personal identification device.

21. A non-transitory computer readable medium programmed with executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system, perform a method, comprising:

receiving, by a personal identification device, an encrypted first section and a decrypted second section of a biometric encryption key, wherein the second section includes a digital signature, the second section having been decrypted by a server using a private key associated with the server and the digital signature having been decrypted by the server using a public key associated with a second personal identification device;

verifying, by the personal identification device, a validity of the digital signature using the public key associated with the second personal identification device;

decrypting, by the personal identification device, the encrypted first section of the biometric encryption key; and

combining, by the personal identification device, the first section of the biometric encryption key and the second section of the biometric encryption key to restore the biometric encryption key when the validity of the signature is verified.

22. A non-transitory computer readable medium programmed with executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system, perform a method, comprising:

decrypting, by a server, a section of a symmetric key containing a digital signature in encrypted form, using a private key associated with the server, the section of the symmetric key being less than an entirety of the symmetric key;

decrypting, by the server, the digital signature of the decrypted section of the symmetric key using a public key of a personal identification device to produce the decrypted section of the symmetric key including the decrypted digital signature; and

sending, by the server, the decrypted section of the symmetric key, including the decrypted digital signature, to a second personal identification device.

23. A non-transitory computer readable medium programmed with executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system, perform a method, comprising:

decrypting, by a server, a section of a first symmetric key in encrypted form containing a digital signature, the decrypting based on a private key of the server, to produce the section of the first symmetric key in decrypted form, the section of the first symmetric key in decrypted form being less than an entirety of the first symmetric key, the private key being associated with a server;

after the decrypting the section of the first symmetric key in encrypted form, sending the section of the first symmetric key in decrypted form, and sending the remainder of the entirety of the first symmetric key in encrypted form, to a personal identification device, the first symmetric key associated with biometric data for the personal identification device;

decrypting, by a server, a section of a second symmetric key in encrypted form containing a digital signature, the decrypting based on the private key of the server, to produce the section of the second symmetric key in decrypted form, the section of the second symmetric key in decrypted form being less than an entirety of the second symmetric key; and

after the decrypting the section of the second symmetric key in encrypted form, sending the section of the second symmetric key in decrypted form, and the remainder of the entirety of the second symmetric key in encrypted form, to the personal identification device.