Portable DRM Credential Management via Smart Card
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing DRM systems for mobile devices face challenges in ensuring secure and portable access to digital content, as rights objects are typically device-specific, requiring reinstallation upon device change and lacking a unified trust mechanism across different handsets and smart cards.
Innovation Solution
A method involving remote server authentication of the device, secure credential provision to a portable device, and subsequent authentication and decryption key delivery, allowing the portable device to manage and authenticate the device for access to digital content, ensuring secure and portable usage rights management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rights objects are stored on the handset, then device-specific access control is achieved, but portability and ease of operation deteriorate when device changes occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the DRM functionality by separating rights object storage from the handset and placing it on the smart card instead. This allows the rights objects to be independently portable while the handset maintains its authentication capabilities. The segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling rights portability without compromising device-specific security verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The smart card acts as an intermediary between the Rights Issuer and the handset. It receives rights objects from the Rights Issuer and provides them to authorized handsets, mediating the access control process. This intermediary role enables seamless portability while maintaining security through the card's involvement in the authentication chain.
2Adaptability or versatility
If smart cards are used for rights object storage, then portability and security are improved, but device complexity increases due to additional authentication mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The smart card is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a rights object repository and as an authentication credential provider. It contains both the rights objects and the credentials needed for handshake authentication with the Rights Issuer. This universality reduces overall system complexity by consolidating multiple functions into a single portable component.
Solution Approach 2:
The smart card is pre-configured with credentials during its personalization process, enabling it to independently authenticate with the Rights Issuer before rights object delivery. This preliminary setup eliminates the need for complex real-time credential management during operation, simplifying the authentication process while maintaining security.
3Reliability
If handsets are individually authenticated by the Rights Issuer, then security is improved, but time and productivity are reduced due to re-authentication requirements on device change
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of re-authenticating each handset individually with the Rights Issuer, the system creates a copy of the authentication capability in the form of credentials stored on the smart card. The card receives credentials from the Rights Issuer that replicate the authentication function, allowing it to verify handset compliance locally without repeated server interactions. This copying mechanism eliminates time loss while maintaining security verification.
4Ease of operation
If credentials are stored on the handset, then authentication capability is maintained, but security deteriorates when the handset is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The critical security credentials are extracted from the handset and relocated to the smart card, which provides a more secure isolated environment for their storage. The card's tamper-resistant design and isolated processing facility protect credentials from handset-level compromises. This extraction maintains authentication capability while significantly improving security against device compromise.
Data Source
AI summary
Access of a first device, communicating with a second, portable device, to digital content is controlled by authentication of the first device by a remote server; upon successful authentication of the first device by the remote server, securely providing by the remote server credentials to the portable device, the credentials enabling the portable device to authenticate the first device; securely providing by the remote server rights objects to the portable device, the rights objects comprising usage rights and information which is necessary to access the content; authentication of the first device by the portable device using the credentials received from the remote server; and, upon successful authentication of the first device by the portable device, delivering by the portable device to the first device the information which is necessary to access the content.