Qualcomm Incorporated

Google Inc.

Qualcomom Incorporated

Olivier Jean Benoit

Gavin Bernard Horn

Seung Hyuk Kang

Peerapol Tinnakornsrisuphap

Rosario Cammarota

Anand Palanigounder

Etan Gur Cohen

Prasad Modali

Vincent Pierre Le Roy

Aram Perez

Vinoth Kumar Deivasigamani

Sai Yiu Duncan Ho

Stephen Jay Shellhammer

Xiaolong Huang

Bibhu P Mohanty

Rahul Malik

Laurence Geoffrey Lundblade

Lu Xiao

Rolf De Vegt

Benjamin K Dodge

Andrew Mackinnon Davidson

Asaf Ashkenazi

Rajesh Kumar

Osman Koyuncu

David Tamagno

Andrei Tudor Stratan

Cameron Allen George McDonald

Michael J T Chan

Saurabh Sabnis

Yin Ling Liong

Manish Mohan

Fabrice Jean Hoerner

Rishab Nithyanand

Bibhu Prasad Mohanty

Jouni Kalevi Malinen

Philip Hawkes

This document describes a secure element that leverages the resources of a computer system to perform specialized functions using sensitive information. The secure element securely stores sensitive information on flash memory of the computer system. In response to a request requiring use of sensitive information, the secure element loads a security application and sensitive information from the computer system. By leveraging external resources, the secure element may flexibly accommodate increasing resource requirements of the computer system and be used in a wide range of computer systems.

Secure element that leverages external resources

If a secure element accesses a resource that is separate from the secure element, conducting a secure transaction can be inefficient in terms of power or time. Power usage is inefficient if the resource is never permitted to sleep, and transaction time is inefficient if the resource is permitted to sleep, and the user experiences a delay. To enable dual efficiency, a resource entity is permitted to be powered down. The resource entity is then powered up speculatively by an activation controller. The activation controller predicts an upcoming secure transaction based on sensor output, such as a position fix or a detected electromagnetic field. Based on monitored sensor output, the activation controller issues an activation signal to power up the secure element or the resource entity prior to initiation of the upcoming secure transaction. Thus, power can be conserved without introducing a transaction-processing latency.

Speculative activation for secure element usage

Techniques and apparatuses are described that implement the secure external data storage. A computing system may include a system-on-chip as a main processing complex and one or more secure elements that execute specialized functions related to sensitive information. While the secure element may use an external flash for storage for performance reasons, storing sensitive information on an external flash may expose the sensitive information if the external flash is ever compromised. The disclosed techniques and apparatuses provide an integrated secure element, of a system-on-chip, which leverages a secure channel with a secure flash to manage a cryptographic key for securing sensitive information stored on an unsecured external flash to prevent the exposure of sensitive information.

Securing external data storage for a secure element integrated on a system-on-chip

This document describes methods and systems that use an undefined lifecycle state identifier to manage security of a system-on-chip (SoC) integrated circuit (IC) device. As part of the described techniques, the SoC IC device may include a first set of logic integrated circuitry that determines that a first combination of bit values fails to correspond to a known lifecycle state identifier. The first set of logic integrated circuitry may then provide, to a second set of logic integrated circuitry, a second combination of bit values that corresponds to the undefined lifecycle state identifier. The second set of logic integrated circuitry may then place the SoC IC device into an undefined lifecycle state.

Undefined lifecycle state identifier for managing security of an integrated circuit device

Various features pertain to defending a smartphone processor or other device from a transient fault attack. In one example, the processor is equipped to detect transient faults using a fault detection system and to adaptively adjust a control parameter in response to the transient faults, where the control parameter controls a physical operation of the processor (such as by gating its clock signal) or a functional operation of the fault detection system (such as a particular Software Fault Sensor (SFS) employed to detect transient faults). In some examples, in response to each newly detected fault, the detection system is controlled to consume more processor time to become more aggressive in detecting additional faults. This serves to quickly escalate fault detection in response to an on-going attack to promptly detect the attack so that the device can be disabled to prevent loss of sensitive information, such as security keys or passcodes.

Adaptive systems and procedures for defending a processor against transient fault attacks

A method, apparatus, and system for utilizing a register virtualization mapping to improve defense against return-oriented programming-based attacks is disclosed. A register virtualization mapping, which is bijection between nominal registers and physical registers, is generated for a subroutine call when the subroutine call is detected. The register virtualization mapping is applied to instructions within the subroutine call. The register virtualization mapping is stopped for the subroutine call at the return of the subroutine call.

Dynamic register virtualization

One embodiment of seamless device configuration between a network device and an access point sends a device credential associated with the network device to the access point before the network device communicates with the access point. The device credential can be used to verify the identity of the network device and can authenticate the network device with the access point without requiring user interaction. Another embodiment can incorporate a central authority maintaining a database of network devices, access points and associated users. The central authority can determine when one or more network devices can seamlessly be configured for use with a particular access point. The central authority can send the device credential associated with the one or more network devices to the access point before the network device communicates with the access point.

Seamless device configuration in a communication network

Techniques for providing data protection in an integrated circuit are provided. A method according to these techniques includes maintaining an anti-replay counter value in a volatile memory of the integrated circuit, the anti-replay counter value being associated with data stored in an off-chip, non-volatile memory in which the integrated circuit is configured to store the data, monitoring an external power source, and writing the anti-replay counter value to a programmable read-only memory of the integrated circuit responsive to a loss of power to the integrated circuit from the external power source.

Fuse-based anti-replay mechanism

Techniques for maintaining an anti-replay counter (ARC) for providing data protection in an integrated circuit are provided. A method according to these techniques includes determining a static baseline value based on an ARC value stored in a programmable read-only memory of the integrated circuit, determining the ARC value based on the static baseline value and a transient component, and storing the ARC value in a volatile memory of the integrated circuit.

Techniques for determining an anti-replay counter for preventing replay attacks

An apparatus and method for configuring a wireless station for use within a wireless local area network are disclosed. In at least one exemplary embodiment, a pairwise master key is generated by the wireless station and an access point within the wireless local area network. The pairwise master key may be based, at least in part, on a transient identity key pair of the wireless station. The transient identity key pair may be generated by the wireless station in response to receiving a message from the access point. In some embodiments, a public transient identity key of the transient identity key pair may be provided to additional access points to enable the wireless station to authenticate with the additional access points.

Flexible configuration and authentication of wireless devices

Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications and, more particularly, to ultra low power paging frames for wake up and discovery. One example apparatus for wireless communications generally includes at least one interface configured to obtain a frame via a first radio and a second radio, wherein the interface receives a frame from another apparatus via the second radio while the first radio is in a first power state; and a processing system configured to take one or more actions based on a command field included in the frame. A second example apparatus for wireless communications generally includes at least one interface configured to obtain a frame via a first radio and a second radio, wherein the interface receives a frame from another apparatus via the second radio while the first radio is in a first power state; and a processing system configured to take one or more actions based on whether or not an authentication code included in the frame matches a local authentication code.

Secure wireless wake-up companion

Techniques for mitigating the transitive data problem using a secure asset manager are provided. These techniques include generating a secure asset manager compliant application by tagging source code for the application with a data tag to indicate that a data element associated with the source code is a sensitive data element, accessing a policy file comprising transitive rules associated with the sensitive data element, and generating one or more object files for the application from the source code. These techniques also include storing a sensitive data element in a secure memory region managed by a secure asset manager, and managing the sensitive data element according to a policy associated with the sensitive data element by an application from which the sensitive data element originates, the policy defining transitive rules associated with the sensitive data element.

Techniques for data monitoring to mitigate transitive problem in object-oriented contexts

Techniques for encrypting the data in the memory of a computing device are provided. An example method for protecting data in a memory according to the disclosure includes encrypting data associated with a store request using a memory encryption device of the processor to produce encrypted data. Encrypting the data includes: obtaining a challenge value, providing the challenge value to a physically unclonable function module to obtain a response value, and encrypting the data associated with the store request using the response value as an encryption key to generate the encrypted data. The method also includes storing the encrypted data and the challenge value associated with the encrypted data in the memory.

Physically unclonable function assisted memory encryption device techniques

A user device can be configured for network access, such as for guest network access. In one example, a first device receives an indication of a transaction that uses the first device. The first device communicates a request for network access to an access point of the network in response to receiving the indication of the transaction. The first device then receives a first key from the access point. The first device provides the first key to the user device. The user device is to use the first key to obtain the network access to the network.

Network access authentication using a point-of-sale device

Disclosed is a method, apparatus, and system to control the unlocking of an entry for a guest having a wireless device by an owner access point. A virtual key for a wireless device and an access control rule associated with the virtual key may be stored at the owner access point. The owner access point may determine whether a virtual key received from a wireless device matches the stored virtual key and whether the access control rule for the stored virtual key is satisfied. If the virtual key matches, and the access control rule for the stored virtual key is satisfied, the owner access point may transmit an open command to the entry.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Olivier Jean Benoit