BIOS Secure Wireless Display Connection via HDCP Authentication

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current technologies lack secure methods for connecting to wireless displays during the pre-boot process and ensuring High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) compliance, leading to vulnerabilities in video content transmission and unauthorized access to BIOS settings.

Innovation Solution

A secure wireless display connect module within the BIOS authenticates HDCP-compliant wireless displays, generates a shared session key, and encrypts video frames using an ACPI secure blob, ensuring secure and HDCP-compliant video content transmission during the boot process without external hardware.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If Miracast is used to send video content to a wireless display, then wireless display functionality is achieved, but security is compromised because HDCP cannot be implemented without separate hardware

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewireless display functionalityVSAvoidsecurity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the HDCP encryption functionality directly into the BIOS firmware, combining what were previously separate components (Miracast wireless display capability and HDCP security hardware) into a unified solution. The BIOS now contains both the wireless display protocol implementation and the HDCP encryption engine, eliminating the need for separate hardware dongles while maintaining security.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical hardware-based HDCP implementation (separate HDCP hardware dongle and driver) with a firmware-based implementation. The HDCP encryption and authentication functions are now executed as software routines within the BIOS, substituting physical hardware components with virtualized firmware functionality while preserving the security protocol.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Ease of operation

If video content is sent without HDCP when BIOS does not support HDCP hardware, then wireless display connectivity is achieved, but content protection is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewireless display connectivityVSAvoidunauthorized content access

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs HDCP authentication and establishes encryption keys during the BIOS boot phase, before the operating system loads. This preliminary action ensures that HDCP protection is already in place and active before any video content transmission begins, preventing the scenario where content is sent unprotected due to delayed or missing HDCP initialization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If a computing system is resumed, then system operation is restored, but HDCP protection may be lost allowing unauthorized display on non-HDCP-compliant displays

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem resume speedVSAvoidHDCP compliance

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent maintains HDCP protection continuously across system resume operations by preserving the encrypted video output path and authentication state through the resume process. The BIOS-level HDCP implementation ensures that when the system resumes, the protected video channel is re-established automatically without requiring re-authentication or risking fallback to unprotected output, thereby maintaining uninterrupted security coverage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

4Adaptability or versatility

If wireless displays are placed in public areas, then accessibility is improved, but vulnerability to unauthorized access increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedisplay accessibilityVSAvoidunauthorized user access

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces HDCP encryption as an intermediary layer between the computing system and the wireless display. This cryptographic mediator ensures that even if unauthorized users physically access the wireless display in public areas, they cannot view or capture the protected video content without the proper decryption keys, which are only provided to authenticated HDCP-compliant displays.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS11627468B2Connecting securely to a wireless display from BIOS

Publication Date: 2023.04.11 DELL PROD LP

AI summary

During the boot process, a secure wireless display connect module of the BIOS can authenticate a wireless display and determine whether the wireless display can comply with the HDCP. When the secure wireless display connect module determines that the wireless display is HDCP compliant, the secure wireless display connect module can create an ACPI secure blob in which is stored a shared session key generated as part of determining that the wireless display is HDCP compliant. A video authentication session module of the BIOS can then retrieve this shared session key from the ACPI secure blob and use it to encrypt video frames that are to be sent to the wireless display. The video authentication session module may additionally embed a session ID and a timeout into each video frame which the wireless display can employ to detect when the video frame should no longer be displayed.