Patent Application
20080025513
Referring to
An owner-auth 102 is then specified to take ownership of the TPM. The owner-auth 102 is preferably derived from the same password (specified by the security administrator) 100 that was used to encrypt the base key 106. This process generates a unique SRK 104 for the TPM and prepares the TPM for use. The base key 106 that was generated previously is imported into the TPM, with the SRK 104 as its parent. As a result of importing the base key into the TPM, a TPM blob is returned and stored to disk. Other TPM keys (e.g., as indicated at 108 and 110) can be generated as “children” of this base key, and used for various practical applications.
Each time a security-related software application runs, the TPM blob of the stored base key 106 is preferably loaded into the TPM. The TPM blob preferably contains components that are specific to the SRK 104 that existed at the time the TPM blob was generated, and will not load into any TPM whose SRK is different than the SRK that existed at the time the TPM blob was generated. If the TPM blob loads successfully, then it can be concluded that the TPM being used is the same TPM that was used previously. If the TPM blob does not load into the TPM, then this means the TPM has been replaced, and an automatic process will preferably recover the previous TPM's configuration and allow the base key 106 (and its child keys 108/110) to load.
To configure the new TPM identically to the one that was used to generate the original base key blob, the security administrator will be prompted for the password (100) that was used to configure the original TPM. A key will be derived from this password that will decrypt (112) the stored backup base key 114 that was previously used. Then, a TPM owner-auth will be derived from that password, which will be used to take ownership of the new TPM and generate a new SRK. The decrypted software base key will be imported into the TPM, with the new SRK as its parent. A new base key TPM blob will be generated that is specific to this new SRK, and this new TPM blob will be stored to disk. As a result of this automatic process, the new TPM is now ready for service with the same owner-auth 102 that had been configured previously.
It is to be understood that the present invention, in accordance with at least one presently preferred embodiment, includes elements that may be implemented on at least one general-purpose computer running suitable software programs. These may also be implemented on at least one Integrated Circuit or part of at least one Integrated Circuit. Thus, it is to be understood that the invention may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both.
If not otherwise stated herein, it is to be assumed that all patents, patent applications, patent publications and other publications (including web-based publications) mentioned and cited herein are hereby fully incorporated by reference herein as if set forth in their entirety herein.
Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
