Security and ticketing system control and management

Abstract

A security device of this invention includes a nonvolatile storage unit 22 for storing a validity check unit including a counter updated every time signature function means 30 is called up, a volatile storage unit 24 for reading and storing a counter array out of an external nonvolatile storage unit storing the counter array, in which the counter array is obtained by coupling a hash value generated for each signature key with a signature number counter for counting the number of signatures performed by use of the signature key, and a hash function unit 28 for reading the counter array out of the volatile storage unit 24, generating the hash value, and transferring the hash value to the validity check unit for a validity check.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention generally relates to prevention of fraudulent uses of digital tickets, or more specifically to a security device and an information processing device for performing security control and management of digital tickets. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Along with diffusion of information processing devices such as personal computers, PDAs, cellular phones, and the like in recent years, it is conceivable that a technique for providing a service by use of a so-called digital ticket (hereinafter referred simply to as a ticket in the present invention) will become widespread. Such a ticket allows fraudulent duplication because of the nature of electronic data. Accordingly, it is conceivable to be increasingly necessary to prevent acts of performing multiple accesses by use of a fraudulently duplicated ticket (hereinafter referred to as multiple uses). [0003] Although such fraudulent acts must be eliminated, the ticket in the present inv...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] The present invention also provides a controlling method for controlling a security device for restricting multiple uses of signed data. The controlling method may further cause the security device to execute the step of storing the immediately preceding hash value among the hash values generated in the past and sent from the counter array. Moreover, in the present invention, the controlling method may further cause the security device to execute the step of allowing the hash function unit to read a value in the counter and to calculate the hash value which is a concatenated value obtained by coupling the counter value with a value in the counter array.

Problems solved by technology

Such a ticket allows fraudulent duplication because of the nature of electronic data.

Although such fraudulent acts must be eliminated, the ticket in the present invention is a piece of electronic data, and it is difficult to prevent the multiple uses of the duplicated ticket only by means of a software unit.

However, a security device implemented in hardware has a limitation in hardware resources allocatable for this purpose.

However, such processing may cause response delays in transactions and may damage efficiency of using electronic tickets.

On the other hand, a method of storing the data for preventing fraudulent acts in the external area has a disadvantage of damaging reliability of the security device itself due to fraudulent accesses to the data for preventing the fraudulent acts.

However, it is hard to say that the method sufficiently addresses a question of restricting the number of signatures, i.e. restricting the multiple uses.

Accordingly, adoption of a data format in which the counter is simply added is not sufficient in terms of eliminating the fraudulent multiple uses.

However, to assure safe storage of this key involves additional complexity and a new threat to reliability.

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