METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHECKING INTEGRITY OF FIRMWARE

• US 20080289038A1
• Filed: 11/09/2007
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: CHOI, Yang-lim, SHIN, Jun-bum, KIM, Jin-mok, LEE, Hyung-jick
• Application Number:
  US11/937,856
• Publication Number:
  US 20080289038A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/572 Secure firmware programming, e.g. of basic input output system [BIOS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures

Abstract

Provided are a method and apparatus for checking the integrity of firmware. The method includes storing a first hash function value of unhacked firmware for determining whether actual firmware of an external processor has been hacked; reading the actual firmware via a bus; calculating a second hash function value of the actual firmware; comparing the first hash function value with the second hash function value; and sharing a bus key with the external processor, based on the comparison result.

Claims

1. A method of checking integrity of firmware, the method comprising:

storing a first hash function value of unhacked firmware for determining whether firmware of an external processor has been hacked;

reading the firmware via a bus;

calculating a second hash function value of the firmware;

comparing the first hash function value with the second hash function value; and

sharing a bus key with the external processor, based on a result of the comparing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reading of the firmware comprises reading the firmware loaded from a nonvolatile memory of the external processor to a volatile memory of the external processor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the reading of the firmware comprises reading the firmware from a nonvolatile memory of the external processor, where the nonvolatile memory comprises a flash memory or an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing enciphered data communication with the external processor, by using the bus key.

5. A method of checking integrity of firmware, the method comprising:

storing an offset location and a data size of a part of unhacked firmware for determining whether firmware of an external processor has been hacked;

storing a first hash function value of the part of the unhacked firmware;

reading data corresponding to the offset location and the data size from the external processor;

calculating a second hash function value of the read data;

comparing the first hash function value with the second hash function value; and

sharing a bus key with the external processor, based on a result of the comparing.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising updating the offset location, the data size, and the first hash function value, based on the result of the comparing.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the updating the offset location, the data size, and the first hash function value comprises:

updating the offset location and the data size if the first hash function value is equal to the second hash function value;

reading data corresponding to the updated offset location and the updated data size from the external processor;

calculating a third hash function value of the read data; and

updating the first hash function value to the third hash function value.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the reading the data corresponding to the updated offset location and the updated data size, the calculating of the third hash function value of the read data, and the updating of the first hash function value are repeatedly performed in a predetermined cycle.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the reading the data corresponding to the offset location and the data comprises reading data loaded from a nonvolatile memory of the external processor to a volatile memory of the external processor.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the reading the data corresponding to the offset location and the data size comprises reading the data from a nonvolatile memory of the external processor, and the nonvolatile memory comprises a flash memory or an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory.

11. The method of claim 5, further comprising establishing enciphered data communication with the external processor, by using the bus key.

12. A method of checking integrity of firmware, the method comprising:

performing an integrity check on firmware stored in an external processor;

sharing a bus key with the external processor, based on a result of the performing the integrity check; and

establishing enciphered data communication with the external processor, using the bus key.

13. An apparatus for checking integrity of firmware, the apparatus comprising:

a storage unit which stores a first hash function value of unhacked firmware for determining whether firmware of an external processor has been hacked;

a firmware reading unit which reads the firmware via a bus;

a hash value calculation unit which calculates a second hash function value of the firmware;

a comparison unit which compares the first hash function value with the second hash function value; and

a bus key sharing unit which shares a bus key with the external processor, based on a comparison result of the comparison unit.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the firmware reading unit reads firmware loaded from a nonvolatile memory of the external processor to a volatile memory of the external processor.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the firmware reading unit reads the firmware from a nonvolatile memory of the external processor, and the nonvolatile memory comprises a flash memory or an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the bus key is used in establishing enciphered data communication with the external processor.

17. An apparatus for checking integrity of firmware, the apparatus comprising:

a storage unit which stores an offset location, a data size, and a first hash function value of a part of unhacked firmware for determining whether firmware of an external processor has been hacked;

a firmware reading unit which reads data corresponding to the offset location and the data size from the external processor;

a hash value calculation unit which calculates a second hash function value of the read data;

a comparison unit which compares the first hash function value with the second hash function value; and

a bus key sharing unit which shares a bus key with the external processor, based on a comparison result received from the comparison unit.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising an update unit which updates the offset location, the data size, and the first hash function value, based on the comparison result received from the comparison unit.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the firmware reading unit reads data loaded from a nonvolatile memory of the external processor to a volatile memory of the external processor.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the firmware reading unit reads the data from a nonvolatile memory of the external processor, and the nonvolatile memory comprises a flash memory or an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the bus key is used in establishing enciphered data communication with the external processor.

22. A computer readable medium having recorded thereon a program for executing a method of checking integrity of firmware, the method comprising:

storing a first hash function value of unhacked firmware for determining whether firmware of an external processor has been hacked;

reading the firmware via a bus;

calculating a second hash function value of the firmware;

comparing the first hash function value with the second hash function value; and

sharing a bus key with the external processor, based on a result of the comparing.