Emulator for protecting chip firmware program and method thereof

Abstract

The invention introduces an emulator for protecting a chip firmware program and a method thereof and relates to the technical field of chip simulation. The emulator comprises an emulator control module and emulator hardware. The emulator hardware comprises a chip function debugging module, a register, a signal generation stopping module and a chip function module. The register is arranged on the emulator control module through the chip function debugging module. The CPU stops or runs after the control chip function module generates soft resetting. The method for protecting the chip firmware program includes that the emulator control module start the soft resetting stopping function of the emulator hardware, operates a soft resetting command in the chip firmware program, and automatically stops at the head address of the user program area, the chip firmware program on the user debugging interface cannot be visited at the moment, and the aim of protection is achieved. The emulator has the function of automatically switching to the user program area and protecting the chip firmware program, has the advantages of being simple in design and convenient to use, and provides a code protection scheme for the chip emulator with the safety requirement.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to a chip emulator, in particular to an emulator and method for protecting chip firmware programs. Background technique [0002] There will be a chip firmware program in the smart card chip, and the basic function setting and security functions can be realized by executing the program. This program is developed by the chip manufacturer and is protected in the chip, which cannot be accessed through user programs. [0003] For smart card chip emulators, the usual method is to solidify the function settings in the emulator hardware. When the chip updates the function settings, the emulator hardware needs to be redesigned to modify the content of the solidified settings. It is inconvenient to design, implement and maintain. The main problem is There are many differences between this kind of emulator and the real chip, the function settings may be incomplete, the sequence of register operations cannot be controlled, and the boot time ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0003] For smart card chip emulators, the usual method is to solidify the function settings in the emulator hardware. When the chip updates the function settings, the emulator hardware needs to be redesigned to modify the content of the solidified settings. It is inconvenient to design, implement and maintain. The main problem is There are many differences between this kind of emulator and the real chip, the function settings may be incomplete, the sequence of register operations cannot be controlled, and the boot time of the user program is inconsistent, etc. There is a risk that the user program will run wrong on the chip after the emulator is debugged.

[0004] Another emulator implementation method is to configure the emulator function through the firmware program, and the emulator control module protects the read, write and debug operations of the chip firmware program. This method makes the software design complicated and difficult to upgrade and maintain.

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