International Business Machines Corporation

John K Li

Camil Fayad

Siegfried Sutter

Siegfried K H Sutter

Tamas Visegrady

Phil C Yeh

Thomas J Dewkett

A cryptographic engine for modulo N multiplication, which is structured as a plurality of almost identical, serially connected Processing Elements, is controlled so as to accept input in blocks that are smaller than the maximum capability of the engine in terms of bits multiplied at one time. The serially connected hardware is thus partitioned on the fly to process a variety of cryptographic key sizes while still maintaining all of the hardware in an active processing state.

Selectively isolating processor elements into subsets of processor elements

A data processing system, which is particularly useful for carrying out modular multiplication, especially for cryptographic purposes, comprises a plurality of independent, serially connected processing elements which are provided with data in a cyclical fashion via a control mechanism that is capable of transferring data from a set of registers to earlier ones in the series of the serially connected processing elements, at the end of a predetermined number of cycles.

Forward shifting of processor element processing for load balancing

Electronic circuit chips which include cryptography functions are arranged in multichip configurations through the utilization of a shared external memory. Security of the chips is preserved via a handshaking protocol which permits each chip to access limited portions of the memory as defined in a way that preserves the same high security level as the tamper proof chips themselves. The chips may be operated to work on different tasks or to work on the same task thus providing a mechanism for trading off speed versus redundancy where desired.

Methods for coordinating access to memory from at least two cryptography secure processing units

In an array of groups of cryptographic processors, the processors in each group operate together but are securely connected through an external shared memory. The processors in each group include cryptographic engines capable of operating in a pipelined fashion. Instructions in the form of request blocks are supplied to the array in a balanced fashion to assure that the processors are occupied processing instructions.

Load balancing for a system of cryptographic processors

A mechanism is provided in which access to the functionality present on an integrated circuit chip is controllable via an encrypted certificate of authority which includes time information indicating allowable periods of operation or allowable duration of operation. The chip includes at least one cryptographic engine and at least one processor. The chip also contains hard coded cryptographic keys including a chip private key, a chip public key and a third party's public key. The chip is also provided with a battery backed up volatile memory which contains information which is used to verify authority for operation. The certificate of authority is also used to control not only the temporal aspects of operation but is also usable to control access to certain functionality that may be present on the chip, such as access to some or all of the cryptographic features provided in conjunction with the presence of the cryptographic engine, such as key size.

System and method for providing dynamically authorized access to functionality present on an integrated circuit chip

The partitioning of large arrays in the hardware structure, for multiplication and addition, into smaller structures results in a multiplier design which includes a series of nearly identical processing elements linked together in a chained fashion. As a result of simultaneous operation in two subphases per processing element and the chaining together of processing elements, the overall structure is operable in a pipelined fashion to improve throughput and speed. The chained processing elements are constructed so as to provide a pardonable chain with separate parts for processing factors of the modulus.

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John K Li