Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090049510 | SECURING STORED CONTENT FOR TRUSTED HOSTS AND SAFE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS - Techniques for protecting content to ensure its use in a trusted environment are disclosed. The stored content is protected against harmful and/or defective host (or hosted) environments. A trusted security component provided for a device can verify the internal integrity of the stored content and the host before it allows the content to come in contact with the host. As a counter part, a trusted security component provided for the host can verify and attest to the integrity of the host and/or specific host computing environment that can be provided for the content stored in the device. The trusted security component provided for a device effectively verify the host integrity based on the information attested to by the trusted security component provided for the host. If the trusted security component trusts the host, it allows the trusted host to provide a trusted host computing environment trusted to be safe for the content stored in the device. A trusted host can effectively provide a safe virtual environment that allows a content representing a copy (or image) of an original computing environment to operate on the host computing system to give a similar appearance as the original computing environment. | 02-19-2009 |
20090125974 | Method and system for enforcing trusted computing policies in a hypervisor security module architecture - A method and system for enforcing trusted computing (TC) policies in a security module architecture for a hypervisor. Upon receiving a request from a subject for access to an object, TC-related attribute values are obtained for the subject and the object based on a virtualized trusted platform module (vTPM). Access control decisions are the made based at least on the TC-related attribute values and TC-related policies. | 05-14-2009 |
20090199296 | DETECTING UNAUTHORIZED USE OF COMPUTING DEVICES BASED ON BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS - Techniques for detecting unauthorized use (e.g., malicious attacks) of the computing systems (e.g., computing devices) are disclosed. Unauthorized use can be detected based on patterns of use (e.g., behavioral patterns of use typically associated with a human being) of the computing systems. Acceptable behavioral pattern data can be generated for a computing system by monitoring the use of a support system (e.g., an operating system, a virtual environment) operating on the computing system. For example, a plurality of system support provider components of a support system (e.g., system calls, device drivers) can be monitored in order to generate the acceptable behavioral pattern data in a form which effectively defines an acceptable pattern of use (usage pattern) for the monitored system support provider components, thereby allowing detection of unauthorized use of a computing system by detecting any deviation from the acceptable pattern of use of the monitored system support provider components. | 08-06-2009 |
20090265756 | SAFETY AND MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS THAT MAY SUPPORT UNSAFE COMPONENTS - Techniques for managing and protecting computing environments are disclosed. A safe computing environment can be provided for ensuring the safety and/or management of a device. The safe computing environment can be secured by a safe component that isolates and protects it from unsafe computing environments which may also be operating. As a result, various security and management activities can be securely performed from a safe computing environment. A safe computing environment can, for example, be provided on a device as a safe virtual computing environment (e.g., a safe virtual machine) protected by a safe virtual computing monitor (e.g., a safe virtual machine monitor) from one or more other virtual computing environments that are not known or not believed to be safe for the device. It will also be appreciated that the safe components can, for example, be provided as trusted components for a device. As such, various trusted components (or agent) can operate in a trusted computing environment secured from interference by components that many not be trusted and perform various security and/or management tasks alone or in connection, for example, with other trusted components (e.g., trusted serves). | 10-22-2009 |
20090300049 | VERIFICATION OF INTEGRITY OF COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS FOR SAFE COMPUTING - Improved verification techniques for verification of the integrity of various computing environments and/or computing systems are disclosed. Verifiable representative data can effectively represent verifiable content of a computing environment, thereby allowing the integrity of the computing environment to be verified based on the verifiable representative data instead of the content being represented. Verifiable representative data can effectively include selected portions of the content (e.g., selected content which may be of general and/or specific security interest) and can be generally smaller than the verifiable content it represents. As such, it may generally be more efficient to use the verifiable representative data instead of the content it represents. Verifiable representative data can also be organized. By way of example, unstructured content (e.g., a configuration file written in text) can be effectively transformed based on a scheme (e.g., an XML schema) into a structured text-based content written in a structured language (e.g., XML). Verifiable organized representative data can be organized in accordance with various organizational aspects including, for example, structural, semantics, parameter verification, parameter simplification, and other organizational rules and/or preferences. Organization of verifiable organized representative data can be verified as an additional measure of its integrity, and by in large the integrity of a computing environment and/or system being effectively represented by the verifiable representative data. | 12-03-2009 |
20090300348 | PREVENTING ABUSE OF SERVICES IN TRUSTED COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS - Methods and systems for regulating services provided by a first computing entity, such as a server, to a second computing entity, such as a client are described. A first entity receives a request for a service from a second entity over a network. The first entity determines whether the second entity has a trusted agent by examining an attestation report from the second entity. The first entity transmits a message to the second entity. The trusted agent on the second entity may receive the message. A response is created at the second computing entity and received at the first entity. The first entity then provides the service to the second entity. The first entity may transmit an attestation challenge to the second entity and in response receives an attestation report from the second entity. | 12-03-2009 |
20090319801 | Security-Enhanced Storage Devices Using Media Location Factor in Encryption of Hidden and Non-Hidden Partitions - Methods and devices for increasing or hardening the security of data stored in a storage device, such as a hard disk drive, are described. A storage device provides for increased or hardened security of data stored in hidden and non-hidden partitions of a storage medium in the device. An algorithm may be utilized for deriving a key that is used to encrypt or decrypt text before it is read from or written to the hard disk. The algorithm accepts as input a specific media location factor, such as an end address or start address of the block where the text is being read from or written to, and a secret key of the storage component. The output of the algorithm is a final key that may be used in the encryption and decryption process. Thus, in this manner, the final key is dependent on the location of the block where the data is being written or read, thereby making it more difficult to tamper with the data, which may be stored in a hidden or non-hidden partition of a hard disk. | 12-24-2009 |
20090328141 | AUTHENTICATION, IDENTITY, AND SERVICE MANAGEMENT FOR COMPUTING AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS - Improved techniques for obtaining authentication identifiers, authentication, and receiving services are disclosed. Multiple devices can be used for receiving service from a servicing entity (e.g., Service Providers). More particularly, a first device can be used to authenticate a first entity (e.g., one or more persons) for receiving services from the servicing entity, but the services can be received by a second device. Generally, the first device can be a device better suited, more preferred and/or more secure for authentication related activates including “Identity Management.” The second device can be generally more preferred for receiving and/or using the services. In addition, a device can be designated for authentication of an entity. The device releases an authentication identifier only if the entity has effectively authorized its release, thereby allowing “User Centric” approaches to “Identity Management.” A device can be designated for obtaining authentication identifiers from an identity assigning entity (e.g., an Identity Provider). The authentication identifiers can be used to authenticate an entity for receiving services from a servicing entity (e.g., a Service Provider) that provides the services to a second device. The same device can also be designated for authentication of the entity. The device can, for example, be a mobile phone allowing a mobile solution and providing a generally more secure computing environment than the device (e.g., a Personal Computer) used to receive and use the services. | 12-31-2009 |
20100030964 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SECURING INSTRUCTION CACHES USING CACHE LINE LOCKING - A method and system is provided for securing micro-architectural instruction caches (I-caches). Securing an I-cache involves providing security critical instructions to indicate a security critical code section; and implementing an I-cache locking policy to prevent unauthorized eviction and replacement of security critical instructions in the I-cache. Securing the I-cache may further involve dynamically partitioning the I-cache into multiple logical partitions, and sharing access to the I-cache by an I-cache mapping policy that provides access to each I-cache partition by only one logical processor. | 02-04-2010 |
20100030967 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SECURING INSTRUCTION CACHES USING SUBSTANTIALLY RANDOM INSTRUCTION MAPPING SCHEME - A method and system is provided for securing micro-architectural instruction caches (I-caches). Securing an I-cache involves maintaining a different substantially random instruction mapping policy into an I-cache for each of multiple processes, and for each process, performing a substantially random mapping scheme for mapping a process instruction into the I-cache based on the substantially random instruction mapping policy for said process. Securing the I-cache may further involve dynamically partitioning the I-cache into multiple logical partitions, and sharing access to the I-cache by an I-cache mapping policy that provides access to each I-cache partition by only one logical processor. | 02-04-2010 |