Secure storage architectures for computing devices

Abstract

A non-volatile memory (NVM) system external to a processor comprising an NVM and a memory controller may perform various aspects of the techniques. The NVM may store a first cryptographic signature and first data. The memory controller may, responsive to a first write request to write updated data to at least a portion of the NVM, to store the updated data in the NVM along with the first data to create second data. The memory controller may also generate, a second cryptographic signature that always differs from the first cryptographic signature, and store the second cryptographic signature as a current cryptographic signature. The memory controller may further output, to the processor, the current cryptographic signature as a reference signature, where the memory controller always replaces the current cryptographic signature, with cryptographic properties, whenever the NVM is written to and does not otherwise permit writing the current cryptographic signature.