Secure Session Key Management for Data Processing Accelerators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Data processing accelerators (DPAs) lack secure communication capabilities, making it difficult for them to cooperate and coordinate securely with each other, which is essential for performing data processing tasks without the risk of data alteration or theft.
Innovation Solution
Establishing secure communication channels between DPAs using session keys that are unique to each pair, generated and managed by a host device, and stored in adjacency tables to ensure secure communication and data integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data processing accelerators communicate peer-to-peer to cooperate on data processing tasks, then productivity and task coordination capability are improved, but security and data integrity are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary key exchange and session key generation before actual data processing tasks. The host device establishes secure communication channels with each DPA beforehand, creating pre-shared session keys that are stored in adjacency tables. This preliminary security setup enables subsequent peer-to-peer communication to proceed efficiently without repeated authentication overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The host device acts as an intermediary that facilitates secure peer-to-peer communication between DPAs. Rather than DPAs directly establishing trust relationships, the host mediates by distributing session keys through secure channels and maintaining adjacency tables that map DPAs to their corresponding session keys, enabling secure coordination without direct trust assumptions.
2Reliability
If unique session keys are generated for each DPA pair to ensure secure communication, then data security and confidentiality are improved, but device complexity and key management overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each DPA is equipped with its own unique root key that it uses to autonomously generate and manage its session keys. The DPA leverages its root key to create derivative keys for communicating with different DPAs, eliminating the need for centralized key distribution or complex multi-party key management. This self-service approach simplifies the overall system while maintaining security.
Data Source
AI summary
A host processing device instructs a plurality of data processing (DP) accelerators to configure themselves for secure communications. The host device generates an adjacency table of each of the plurality of DP accelerators. Then the host device then establishes a session key communication with each DP accelerator and sends the DP accelerator a list of other DP accelerators that the DP accelerator is to establish a session key with, for secure communications between the DP accelerators. The DP accelerator establishes a different session key for each pair of the plurality of DP accelerators. When all DP accelerators have established a session key for communication with other DP accelerators, according to the respective list of other DP accelerators sent by the host device, then the host device can assign work tasks for performance by a plurality of DP accelerators, each communicating over a separately secured communication channel.