Electronic devices, information products, processes of manufacture and apparatus for enabling code decryption in a secure mode using decryption wrappers and key programming applications, and other structures

• US 8,032,764 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2006
• Issued: 10/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: Shankar, Narendar M., Paksoy, Erdal
• Primary Examiner(s): Laforgia; Christian
• Assistant Examiner(s): OLION, BRIAN L
• Application Number:
  US11/559,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20080114993A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,785 Days
• Field of Search: 380200-204
• US Class Current: 713/193
• 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: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2107 File encryption

Abstract

An electronic device (1640) includes a non-volatile store (1620) holding a plurality of encrypted sub-applications (SubApp n), and application-specific identifications (ASIDs) to respectively identify the encrypted sub-applications (SubApp n), and at least one wrapper having a representation of code to call (2220) a function (KPPA2) and supply a said application-specific identification (ASID) to the called function (KPPA2) to determine a storage location (UU) and access (2250) the storage location (UU) for contents and to call (2260) for decryption of the encrypted sub-application (SubApp n) using the contents of the storage location (UU) as a key; and a processor (1660) coupled to said non-volatile store (1620) and operable to access the representation of code and execute the code (2220, 2260). Various electronic devices, information products, processes of manufacture, and apparatus are disclosed and claimed.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a non-volatile store holding a plurality of encrypted sub-applications, and application-specific identifications to respectively identify the encrypted sub-applications, and at least one wrapper having a representation of code to call a function and supply a said application-specific identification to the called function to determine a storage location and access the storage location for contents and to call for decryption of an encrypted sub-application corresponding to the said application-specific identification in response to contents of the storage location as a content decryption key for the decryption; and

a processor coupled to said non-volatile store and operable for;

at a first time, performing an application for decrypting a first form of an encrypted key with a first key to provide a recovered key, wherein the encrypted sub-application has been encrypted using the recovered key;

at a second time following the first time;

encrypting the recovered key into a second form of an encrypted key using a key unique to the electronic device; and

storing the second form in the storage location; and

accessing the representation of code and executing the code so as to decrypt the encrypted sub-application in response to the second form; and

circuitry for deleting from the electronic device the application for decrypting a first form and the first form of an encrypted key after the first time.

2. The electronic device claimed in claim 1 wherein a said wrapper includes a plurality of sub-application wrappers corresponding to a plurality of the encrypted sub-applications respectively.

3. The electronic device claimed in claim 1 wherein a said wrapper further has a representation of code, prior to the call to the function, to invoke a secure mode.

4. The electronic device claimed in claim 1 wherein said representation of code of a said wrapper includes a check of a flag to selectively bypass the decryption of the encrypted sub-application to go to the pass of a parameter.

5. The electronic device claimed in claim 1 wherein said processor includes an element that has different states depending on whether decryption of a particular sub-application has already occurred or not, and said processor is operable to bypass at least some of the decryption of the encrypted sub-application when the element has a state indicating that decryption of that encrypted sub-application has already occurred.

6. The electronic device claimed in claim 1 further comprising at least one peripheral to form an apparatus selected from the group consisting of 1) cell phone handset, 2) gateway, 3) scanner, 4) camera, 5) voice over packet device, 6) video device, 7) audio device, 8) position-assisted device, 9) personal area network device, 10) set top box.

7. The electronic device claimed in claim 1 wherein the processor is further for, in response to the called function, decrypting the second form to provide the recovered key and decrypting the said application-specific identification in response to the recovered key.

8. The electronic device claimed in claim 1 wherein said non-volatile store includes the function itself that is called by the code.

9. The electronic device claimed in claim 8 wherein the function comprises a key programming protected application.

10. The electronic device claimed in claim 1 wherein a said wrapper further has a representation of code, prior to the decryption call, to load the encrypted sub-application corresponding to the application-specific identification.

11. The electronic device claimed in claim 1 wherein the code to access the storage location is included in the function.

12. The electronic device claimed in claim 1 wherein said representation of code of a said wrapper includes a pass of a parameter for execution of the decrypted sub-application.

13. The electronic device claimed in claim 12 wherein said representation of code of a said wrapper includes an adjust code to adjust the flag.

14. The electronic device claimed in claim 12 wherein said processor is on a chip that has an on-chip non-volatile store that includes the function, and the first-named non-volatile store is off-chip.