Hardware Memory Rekeying for No-Downtime Key Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rekeying processes for cryptographic keys in computerized environments often result in significant downtime and unavailability of data, which is undesirable for critical operations and increases the risk of unauthorized access.
Innovation Solution
A hardware-based solution that connects to a memory controller to perform rekeying operations without software intervention, tracking memory addresses with new and old keys, allowing seamless transitions during the rekeying process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional rekeying processes are performed, then key security is improved, but data availability and system downtime deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The memory space is divided into multiple regions, each with its own key. During rekeying, individual regions are updated separately rather than all keys being updated simultaneously. This allows the system to maintain data availability in regions that haven't been rekeyed yet while updating keys in other regions, thus resolving the contradiction between security improvement and data availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by maintaining multiple key versions (current key and new key) and preparing the transition in advance. The hardware rekeying mechanism pre-establishes the new key before fully switching, allowing seamless transitions that minimize downtime and maintain data availability throughout the rekeying process.
2Reliability
If frequent rekeying is performed, then security against key compromise is improved, but system downtime and operational disruption worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The hardware-based rekeying mechanism enables continuous data access during key updates. By implementing rekeying at the hardware level rather than requiring software intervention, the system maintains uninterrupted data availability and eliminates downtime that would otherwise occur during frequent rekeying operations, thus allowing frequent key rotation without operational disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hardware rekeying mechanism as an intermediary between the software and the encryption keys. This hardware layer handles key transitions independently, allowing frequent rekeying operations to occur without requiring software to stop or slow down, thereby eliminating the trade-off between security frequency and system downtime.
3Productivity
If hardware-based rekeying is implemented, then rekeying speed and automation are improved, but device complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The hardware rekeying mechanism operates autonomously without requiring software intervention or manual configuration. The system self-manages the complex tasks of key generation, storage, and transition, thereby achieving high rekeying speed while containing complexity within the hardware layer rather than propagating it to the software layer, which maintains operational simplicity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Rekeying operations can be performed without significantly impacting the execution of software that relies on those keys. In one embodiment, a hardware-based solution connects to a memory controller in a way that hides the rekeying from the software, where the hardware keeps track of which memory addresses in a memory space correspond to new keys. Rekeying can be performed for memory addresses in order, such as from bottom to top addresses in a region table, and a rekeying address can be used to keep track the rekeying process, such that addresses below the rekeying address in the table are to use the new keys and addresses above the rekeying address are to use the current or old key, with the address corresponding to the rekeying address using the prior key for reads and the new key for writes. Keys can then be updated frequently without significant downtime or software modifications.