Embedded Code Digital Signature with Exclusion Areas
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of modern computing systems, particularly in productivity applications with embedded programming environments, introduces security risks due to the potential for malicious code within customized software, necessitating effective digital signature methods that maintain security while allowing modifications to certain areas of documents without invalidating signatures.
Innovation Solution
A security manager within productivity applications generates a digital signature for embedded code projects, excluding specific areas from the signing process, ensuring that modifications to these areas do not invalidate the signature, and employing a hashing algorithm like SHA-1 to create a digest for verification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If digital signature is applied to entire embedded code project, then security and integrity are improved, but any modification to the code invalidates the signature requiring re-signing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the embedded code project into multiple components, identifying and excluding specific modifiable areas (such as document data references) from the digital signature. This allows the signature to cover only the critical code portions that must remain intact, while permitting modifications to excluded areas without invalidating the signature.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different treatment to different parts of the code: critical code sections are included in the digital signature for strict integrity protection, while non-critical sections (like document references) are excluded to allow flexibility. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between overall integrity and local modifiability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If code signing is enforced for all customized software, then security against malicious code is improved, but development and modification flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the code base into signed and unsigned portions, allowing developers to modify excluded areas without going through the complete signing process. This reduces the complexity and time required for development iterations while maintaining security for the critical signed portions.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of signing the entire code project (excessive action), the patent applies signing only to the necessary critical portions (partial action). This reduces the overhead of code signing while maintaining adequate security protection for the most important code sections.
3Reliability
If digital signature validates entire document data, then document integrity is improved, but any document modification invalidates the embedded code signature
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and excludes document data references from the digital signature validation scope. This separation allows document content to be modified independently without affecting the code signature, while the signature still protects the embedded code itself from unauthorized modification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the validation scope into code portions (signed) and document data portions (excluded). This enables independent validation of code integrity while allowing flexible document editing, resolving the contradiction between integrity validation and editability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach provides a robust security mechanism by maintaining the integrity of embedded code signatures while allowing modifications to document data without affecting the code project, thus enhancing security and usability by explicitly identifying exclusion areas.
Implementation Method 1
employing a hashing algorithm like SHA-1 to create a digest for verification
Data Source
AI summary
Generating a digital signature of an entire embedded code project is provided while maintaining certain exclusion areas so that a productivity application can incorporate application-specific information into the embedded code project without hampering the digital signature. A tree structure of data may be serialized into a data stream. The tree structure may include multiple branches and one or more elements identified as an exclusion area. A digital signature of the data stream may be created and included in a document associated with the tree structure.