METHODS AND DEVICES FOR AUTHENTICATION AND DATA ENCRYPTION

• US 20130212401A1
• Filed: 02/14/2012
• Published: 08/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: LIN, JAMES S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,819,443 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/183
• 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 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0863 involving passwords or one-time passwords network architectures or network communication protocols for using one-time keys in a packet data network H04L63/067
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response

Abstract

A storage device comprises a non-volatile storage media and a processor that is operative to receive, via an interface with one or more host devices, a first entered password needed for accessing data stored in the non-volatile storage media, generate a first number, combine the first entered password and the first number, generate a cryptographic key based on the combination of the first entered password and the first number, encrypt the received first entered password using the cryptographic key, and store the encrypted first entered password and the first number in the non-volatile media. The processor may be further operative to receive a request for authentication; provide a reply comprising the first number; receive a second number calculated based on a cryptographic combination of the first number and a second entered password, and authenticate the host device if the second number successfully decrypts the encrypted first entered password.

Claims

1. A storage device configured to secure a password and to authenticate a host device, comprising:

a non-volatile storage media;

an interface coupled to at least one host device, and

a processor, the processor being operative to receive, via the interface with the at least one host device, a first entered password needed for accessing data stored in the non-volatile storage media, generate a first number, combine the first entered password and the first number, generate a cryptographic key based on the combination of the first entered password and the first number, encrypt the received first entered password using the cryptographic key, and store the encrypted first entered password and the first number in the non-volatile media.

2. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operative to generate a random number as the first number.

3. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operative to encrypt user data to be stored on the non-volatile storage media.

4. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operative to combine the first entered password and the first number by one of appending the first entered password to the first number and appending the first number to the first entered password.

5. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operative to combine the first entered password and the first number by hashing the first entered password and the first number.

6. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operative to:

receive, via the interface with the at least one host device, a request for authentication;

provide, via the interface with the at least one host device, a reply comprising the first number;

receive, via the interface with the at least one host device, a second number calculated based on a cryptographic combination of the first number and a second entered password, and

authenticate the at least one host device if the second number successfully decrypts the encrypted first entered password.

7. The storage device of claim 6, further comprising not authenticating a first host device if the second number does not successfully decrypt the encrypted first entered password.

8. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operative to encrypt a data encryption key (DEK) used to encrypt user data on the storage device, using the cryptographic key.

9. The storage device of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to decrypt the encrypted DEK using the second number.

10. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the non-volatile storage media comprises a disk and the storage device further comprises a head for writing data to the disk and for reading data from the disk.

11. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the non-volatile storage media comprises a non-volatile semiconductor memory.

12. A storage device configured to authenticate a host device, comprising:

a non-volatile storage media;

an interface coupled to the at least one host device, and

a processor, the processor being operative to receive, via an interface with the at least one host device, a request for authentication;

read, from the non-volatile storage media, a first number;

provide, via the interface with the at least one host device, a reply comprising the first number;

receive, via the interface with the at least one host device, a second number calculated based on a cryptographic combination of the first number and a second entered password;

reading, from the storage device, a first encrypted first entered password that has been encrypted with a cryptographic combination of a first entered password and the first number; and

authenticate the at least one host device if the second number successfully decrypts the first encrypted first entered password.

13. The storage device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further operative to not authenticate the at least one host device if the second number does not successfully decrypt the first encrypted first entered password.

14. The storage device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further operative to:

generate a third number and to replace the first number with the third number in the storage device when the at least one host device is successfully authenticated

generating a second encrypted first entered password based on a cryptographic combination of the first entered password and the third number, and

storing the second encrypted first entered password in the non-volatile storage media.

15. The storage device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operative to generate a random number as the third number.

16. The storage device of claim 12, wherein the second number comprises a hash, calculated by the at least one host device, of the first number and the second entered password.

17. The storage device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further operative to provide, via the interface with the at least one host device, a message indicating that the at least one host device has been authenticated by the storage device.

18. The storage device of claim 12, wherein the non-volatile storage media comprises a disk and the storage device further comprises a head for writing data to the disk and for reading data from the disk.

19. The storage device of claim 12, wherein the non-volatile storage media comprises a non-volatile semiconductor memory.

20. A method for a storage device to secure a password and authenticate a host device, the method comprising:

receiving, via an interface with at least one host device, a first entered password needed for accessing data stored on the storage device;

generating a first number;

combining the first entered password and the first number;

determining a cryptographic key based on the combination of the first entered password and the first number;

encrypting at least the first entered password using the cryptographic key, and

storing the encrypted first entered password and the first number in the storage device.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein generating a first number comprises generating a random number.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein combining the first entered password and the first number comprises one of appending the first entered password to the first number and appending the first number to the first entered password.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein combining the first entered password and the first number comprises hashing the first entered password and the first number.

24. The method of claim 20, further comprising encrypting, using the cryptographic key, a data encryption key (DEK) used to encrypt data stored on the storage device.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein storing the encrypted first entered password comprises storing the encrypted first entered password in a non-volatile media in the storage device.

26. The method of claim 20, further comprising storing the first number in a non-volatile media in the storage device.

27. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving, via the interface with the at least one host device, a request for authentication;

reading, from the storage device, a first number;

providing, via the interface with the at least one host device, a reply comprising the first number;

receiving, via the interface with the at least one host device, a second number calculated based on a cryptographic combination of the first number and a second entered password;

reading the encrypted first entered password from the storage device; and

authenticating the at least one host device if the second number successfully decrypts the encrypted first entered password.

28. A method for a storage device to authenticate a host device, comprising:

receiving, via an interface with the at least one host device, a request for authentication;

reading, from the storage device, a first number;

providing, via the interface with the at least one host device, a reply comprising the first number;

receiving, via the interface with the at least one host device, a second number calculated based on a cryptographic combination of the first number and a second entered password;

reading, from the storage device, a first encrypted first entered password based on a cryptographic combination of a first entered password and the first number; and

authenticating the at least one host device if the second number successfully decrypts the first encrypted first entered password.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising not authenticating the at least one host device if the second number does not successfully decrypt the first encrypted first entered password.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

generating a third number and replacing the first number with the third number in the storage device when the at least one host device is successfully authenticated, and

generating a second encrypted first entered password based on a cryptographic combination of the first entered password and the third number, and

storing the second encrypted first entered password in the storage device.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein generating the third number comprises generating a random number.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein receiving the second number comprises receiving a hash, calculated by the at least one host device, of the first number and the second entered password.

33. The method of claim 28, further comprising providing, via the interface with the at least one host device, a message indicating that the at least one host device has been authenticated by the storage device.