Patent Application
20220180010
The present application relates to technically inventive, non-routine solutions that are necessarily rooted in computer technology and that produce concrete technical improvements.
As recognized herein, hackers and other people with nefarious intent might seek to physically gain access to sensitive parts of a computing device to gain access to sensitive data and hardware components to which they might not otherwise have access. This can create security issues as it can often lead to the sensitive or protected data being compromised or hardware technology being stolen. As also recognized herein, current solutions are inadequate as they often involve adding additional hardware to the device that takes up significant and valuable space within the device that could be devoted to other components. Even then, the additional hardware can undesirably drain the device's battery, be manipulated to make it appear as though the device was not tampered with at all, might wear-out over time, and/or can add significantly to the overall production cost of the device. Accordingly, there are currently no adequate solutions to the foregoing computer-related, technological problem.
Accordingly, in one aspect a device includes at least one processor, a circuit that comprises a screw forming part of the circuit, and storage accessible to the at least one processor. The storage includes instructions executable by the at least one processor to determine that the screw has been removed from the circuit and to take at least one action related to unauthorized access to the device based on the determination.
The at least one action may include writing, to device memory, an indication that the screw has been removed from the circuit. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one action may include presenting, on a display, a graphical indication that the screw has been removed from the circuit. Still further, the device may be a first device and the at least one action may include transmitting a message to a second device that the screw has been removed from the circuit, where the second device is different from the first device.
Still further, the at least one action may include encrypting a hard drive on the device. The at least one action may also include transmitting a message to a registered user of the device that the device's security has been compromised and/or that the device has been tampered with.
If desired, in some example implementations the instructions may be executable to determine that screw has been removed from circuit based on detecting a state change in the circuit to incomplete.
Still further, in some examples the screw while forming part of the circuit may couple at least one component other than the circuit to the device. So, for example, the at least one component may include at least a portion of a housing of the device and/or a motherboard.
In another aspect, a method includes determining, at a device and using a processor, that a screw forming part of an electrical circuit within the device has been removed from the electrical circuit. The method also includes taking at least one action at the device related to the screw being removed based on the determining, where the at least one action is taken using the processor.
In some example implementations, the at least one action may include writing, to a predetermined storage location, an indication that the screw has been removed. For example, the predetermined storage location may form part of read-only memory (ROM) such as electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). As another example, the predetermined storage location may form part of write-only memory where data may be writable to the write-only memory by an embedded controller that performs the determining step. The write-only memory may not be readable by a central processing unit (CPU) in the device that is different from the embedded controller.
Additionally, in some example implementations the at least one action may include transmitting a message to a registered user of the device that the device has been tampered with, and/or transmitting a message to a manufacturer or provider of the device that the device has been tampered with.
Still further, in some examples the method may include using an embedded controller within the device to determine that the screw has been removed from the electrical circuit. In these examples, the embedded controller may be different from a central processing unit (CPU) of the device but may still establish the processor.
In still another aspect, at least one computer readable storage medium (CRSM) that is not a transitory signal may include instructions executable by at least one processor to determine, at a device, that a screw forming part of an electrical circuit within the device has been removed from the electrical circuit. The instructions may then be executable to take at least one action at the device to indicate device tampering based on the determination.
In some example implementations, the CRSM may form part of read-only memory (ROM) accessible to the at least one processor and the at least one processor may include an embedded controller different from a central processing unit (CPU) of the device.
The details of present principles, both as to their structure and operation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:
Among other things, the present application discloses a tamper detection circuit in series with a chassis screw or other screw. Removal of the screw may break an electrical circuit, thereby eliminating unnecessary device complexity while still monitoring device tampering and possibly taking one or more actions based on screw removal. The device may be monitored for tampering even if the device is turned off, in hibernation, or sleeping owing to power still being accessible to the circuit via an external power supply or the device's battery (e.g., even if the battery is “drained” “all the way” since a computer battery may still maintain a reserve charge not indicated to the user).
Prior to delving further into the details of the instant techniques, note with respect to any computer systems discussed herein that a system may include server and client components, connected over a network such that data may be exchanged between the client and server components. The client components may include one or more computing devices including televisions (e.g., smart TVs, Internet-enabled TVs), computers such as desktops, laptops and tablet computers, so-called convertible devices (e.g., having a tablet configuration and laptop configuration), and other mobile devices including smart phones. These client devices may employ, as non-limiting examples, operating systems from Apple Inc. of Cupertino Calif., Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., or Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash. A Unix® or similar such as Linux® operating system may be used. These operating systems can execute one or more browsers such as a browser made by Microsoft or Google or Mozilla or another browser program that can access web pages and applications hosted by Internet servers over a network such as the Internet, a local intranet, or a virtual private network.
As used herein, instructions refer to computer-implemented steps for processing information in the system. Instructions can be implemented in software, firmware or hardware, or combinations thereof and include any type of programmed step undertaken by components of the system; hence, illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are sometimes set forth in terms of their functionality.
A processor may be any general purpose single- or multi-chip processor that can execute logic by means of various lines such as address lines, data lines, and control lines and registers and shift registers. Moreover, any logical blocks, modules, and circuits described herein can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A processor can also be implemented by a controller or state machine or a combination of computing devices. Thus, the methods herein may be implemented as software instructions executed by a processor, suitably configured application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) or field programmable gate array (FPGA) modules, or any other convenient manner as would be appreciated by those skilled in those art. Where employed, the software instructions may also be embodied in a non-transitory device that is being vended and/or provided that is not a transitory, propagating signal and/or a signal per se (such as a hard disk drive, CD ROM or Flash drive). The software code instructions may also be downloaded over the Internet. Accordingly, it is to be understood that although a software application for undertaking present principles may be vended with a device such as the system 100 described below, such an application may also be downloaded from a server to a device over a network such as the Internet.
Software modules and/or applications described by way of flow charts and/or user interfaces herein can include various sub-routines, procedures, etc. Without limiting the disclosure, logic stated to be executed by a particular module can be redistributed to other software modules and/or combined together in a single module and/or made available in a shareable library.
Logic when implemented in software, can be written in an appropriate language such as but not limited to hypertext markup language (HTML)-5, Java/JavaScript, C# or C++, and can be stored on or transmitted from a computer-readable storage medium such as a random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a hard disk drive or solid state drive, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage such as digital versatile disc (DVD), magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices including removable thumb drives, etc.
In an example, a processor can access information over its input lines from data storage, such as the computer readable storage medium, and/or the processor can access information wirelessly from an Internet server by activating a wireless transceiver to send and receive data. Data typically is converted from analog signals to digital by circuitry between the antenna and the registers of the processor when being received and from digital to analog when being transmitted. The processor then processes the data through its shift registers to output calculated data on output lines, for presentation of the calculated data on the device.
Components included in one embodiment can be used in other embodiments in any appropriate combination. For example, any of the various components described herein and/or depicted in the Figures may be combined, interchanged or excluded from other embodiments.
“A system having at least one of A, B, and C” (likewise “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” and “a system having at least one of A, B, C”) includes systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.
The term “circuit” or “circuitry” may be used in the summary, description, and/or claims. As is well known in the art, the term “circuitry” includes all levels of available integration, e.g., from discrete logic circuits to the highest level of circuit integration such as VLSI, and includes programmable logic components programmed to perform the functions of an embodiment as well as general-purpose or special-purpose processors programmed with instructions to perform those functions.
Now specifically in reference to
As shown in
In the example of
The core and memory control group 120 include one or more processors 122 (e.g., single core or multi-core, etc.) and a memory controller hub 126 that exchange information via a front side bus (FSB) 124. As described herein, various components of the core and memory control group 120 may be integrated onto a single processor die, for example, to make a chip that supplants the “northbridge” style architecture.
The memory controller hub 126 interfaces with memory 140. For example, the memory controller hub 126 may provide support for DDR SDRAM memory (e.g., DDR, DDR2, DDR3, etc.). In general, the memory 140 is a type of random-access memory (RAM). It is often referred to as “system memory.”
The memory controller hub 126 can further include a low-voltage differential signaling interface (LVDS) 132. The LVDS 132 may be a so-called LVDS Display Interface (LDI) for support of a display device 192 (e.g., a CRT, a flat panel, a projector, a touch-enabled light emitting diode display or other video display, etc.). A block 138 includes some examples of technologies that may be supported via the LVDS interface 132 (e.g., serial digital video, HDMI/DVI, display port). The memory controller hub 126 also includes one or more PCI-express interfaces (PCI-E) 134, for example, for support of discrete graphics 136. Discrete graphics using a PCI-E interface has become an alternative approach to an accelerated graphics port (AGP). For example, the memory controller hub 126 may include a 16-lane (x16) PCI-E port for an external PCI-E-based graphics card (including, e.g., one of more GPUs). An example system may include AGP or PCI-E for support of graphics.
In examples in which it is used, the I/O hub controller 150 can include a variety of interfaces. The example of
The interfaces of the I/O hub controller 150 may provide for communication with various devices, networks, etc. For example, where used, the SATA interface 151 provides for reading, writing or reading and writing information on one or more drives 180 such as HDDs, SDDs or a combination thereof, but in any case the drives 180 are understood to be, e.g., tangible computer readable storage mediums that are not transitory, propagating signals. The I/O hub controller 150 may also include an advanced host controller interface (AHCI) to support one or more drives 180. The PCI-E interface 152 allows for wireless connections 182 to devices, networks, etc. The USB interface 153 provides for input devices 184 such as keyboards (KB), mice and various other devices (e.g., cameras, phones, storage, media players, etc.).
In the example of
The system 100, upon power on, may be configured to execute boot code 190 for the BIOS 168, as stored within the SPI Flash 166, and thereafter processes data under the control of one or more operating systems and application software (e.g., stored in system memory 140). An operating system may be stored in any of a variety of locations and accessed, for example, according to instructions of the BIOS 168.
Additionally, though not shown for simplicity, in some embodiments the system 100 may include a gyroscope that senses and/or measures the orientation of the system 100 and provides related input to the processor 122, as well as an accelerometer that senses acceleration and/or movement of the system 100 and provides related input to the processor 122. Still further, the system 100 may include an audio receiver/microphone that provides input from the microphone to the processor 122 based on audio that is detected, such as via a user providing audible input to the microphone. The system 100 may also include a camera that gathers one or more images and provides images and related input to the processor 122. The camera may be a thermal imaging camera, an infrared (IR) camera, a digital camera such as a webcam, a three-dimensional (3D) camera, and/or a camera otherwise integrated into the system 100 and controllable by the processor 122 to gather pictures/images and/or video. Also, the system 100 may include a global positioning system (GPS) transceiver that is configured to communicate with at least one satellite to receive/identify geographic position information and provide the geographic position information to the processor 122. However, it is to be understood that another suitable position receiver other than a GPS receiver may be used in accordance with present principles to determine the location of the system 100.
It is to be understood that an example client device or other machine/computer may include fewer or more features than shown on the system 100 of
Turning now to
Now describing
As shown in
However, first reference is made to
Before moving on to the description of other figures, note that the circuits of
Continuing the detailed description now in reference to
As also shown in
According to the present example, while the screw 604 is screwed in to extend through the aligned holes to couple the motherboard 610 to the housing 612, the screw also forms part of the electrical path of the circuit 602 for current to flow from the controller 606 to ground 608. Thus, should someone remove the screw 604 from the aligned holes (e.g., unscrew it) to detach or loosen the motherboard 610 from the housing 612, the path on the circuit 600 may break and the broken path may be sensed by the controller 606 since current from the controller 606 is no longer being discharged to ground through the screw 604.
Example logic that may be executed by one of the example embedded controllers described in reference to
Then responsive to an affirmative determination, as shown in
A technician or system administrator may then access the ROM or write-only memory at a later time to identify the indication from the memory and take appropriate steps if desired since the indication may by itself indicate tampering with the device via screw removal. The indication as written may be established by a simple zero or one being entered at the predetermined memory location, or a predetermined bit pattern or byte pattern being written, which in either case might seem random or meaningless to the unknowing observer but provides a cue to a technician or system administrator that knows to look for it that device tampering has occurred. In some examples, the indication may also be encrypted as stored at the predetermined storage location, also for security.
Other example actions that may be executed at block 704 will now be discussed in reference to
As shown in
Based on the screw being removed, the GUI 800 may list actions 806 that were taken by the device from which the screw was removed as a result. In the present instance, those actions 806 include notifying the device's manufacturer that the warranty for the device should be voided (if the warranty is still in effect), and encrypting the hard drive and/or other storage within the device responsive to screw removal to protect sensitive data.
Additionally, the actions 806 may include certain hardware on the device being disabled and/or turned off, such as any and all network interface cards (e.g., Wi-Fi transceivers) and hardware ports (e.g., ethernet ports and universal serial bus (USB) ports) being turned off. This may be useful so that a hacker or other person with nefarious intent cannot connect another device to the user's device in order to “jailbreak” the device or otherwise access sensitive data stored thereon. Yet another example action 806 shown on the GUI 800 is instructing the user to monitor sensitive data, e.g., on the dark web using a credit monitoring service or antivirus service.
Also note that while according to
Continuing the detailed description in reference to
As shown in
Based on the screw being removed, the GUI 900 may list actions 906 that were or are to be taken as a result. In the present instance, those actions 906 include instructions to the manufacturer, system administrator, or technician that technical support and warranty support for the end-user's device should be denied since the end-user's device is assumed to have been tampered with based on the screw removal.
In addition to indicating instructions for the manufacturer, the actions 906 may also indicate actions that were already taken at the end-user's device itself, e.g., based on preprogrammed software instructions to do so. For instance, storage devices including flash memory, hard drives (e.g., both hard disk drives and solid state drives), and other storage areas may have either been encrypted or “wiped” to protect not only the end-user's data from hackers and exposure but also to protect proprietary software code and other sensitive data placed on the end-user's device by the manufacturer itself “Wiping” may include reformatting the storage area so that it contains no data, or otherwise deleting some or all data from the storage area.
Reference is now made to
As shown in
As also shown in
It may now be appreciated that present principles provide for an electronic, computer-based approach that aids the functionality and security of the devices disclosed herein. The disclosed concepts are rooted in computer technology.
It is to be understood that whilst present principals have been described with reference to some example embodiments, these are not intended to be limiting, and that various alternative arrangements may be used to implement the subject matter claimed herein. Components included in one embodiment can be used in other embodiments in any appropriate combination. For example, any of the various components described herein and/or depicted in the Figures may be combined, interchanged or excluded from other embodiments.
