Hardware-Rooted Feature Licensing for Industrial Device Identity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation environments face challenges in securely provisioning and enforcing feature licenses for devices, as existing licensing schemes are vulnerable to circumvention and reverse engineering, lacking robust identity verification and secure key management.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a hardware-based root of trust within industrial devices to securely store private cryptographic keys and provision unique security certificates, which are tied to the device's identity, allowing for encrypted and authenticated feature licensing through a certificate authority, ensuring licenses are specific to the device and cannot be transferred or used on other devices without authorization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional software-based licensing schemes are used, then ease of operation is improved, but security and reliability deteriorate due to vulnerability to circumvention and reverse engineering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional software-based licensing mechanisms with a hardware-rooted cryptographic system. Private keys are generated and stored in hardware security modules or trusted platform modules, transforming the licensing enforcement from a software validation process to a hardware-secured cryptographic verification process, thereby preventing circumvention and reverse engineering while maintaining operational ease
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary cryptographic key generation and security certificate provisioning during device manufacturing or initial activation. The hardware root of trust is established before the device enters service, with private keys securely stored and public keys registered with the licensing server in advance, enabling secure licensing operations without requiring complex runtime security measures
2Reliability
If hardware-based root of trust is implemented, then security and reliability are improved, but device complexity increases due to hardware security modules and cryptographic key management
Solution Approach 1:
The hardware root of trust module serves multiple functions: generating cryptographic key pairs, storing private keys securely, performing cryptographic operations for license validation, and providing security certificates. By consolidating these security functions into a single hardware component, the system achieves high reliability without proportionally increasing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The hardware security module autonomously performs cryptographic operations such as key generation, signing, and verification without requiring external intervention or complex software management. The module self-manages the private keys and cryptographic operations, reducing the burden on the host system and simplifying the overall architecture while maintaining high security standards
3Reliability
If unique security certificates are provisioned for each device, then reliability is improved through accurate device identification, but manufacturing complexity increases due to secure key provisioning processes
Solution Approach 1:
Security certificates and cryptographic key pairs are generated and provisioned during the device manufacturing process or initial activation sequence, before the device enters production use. This preliminary provisioning ensures each device has its unique security identity established in advance, enabling reliable device identification without adding complexity to ongoing manufacturing or deployment processes
Solution Approach 2:
The manual or complex automated processes for certificate provisioning are replaced with automated cryptographic key generation and certificate issuance systems. The hardware root of trust automatically generates unique key pairs for each device, and the licensing server automatically issues corresponding security certificates, eliminating the need for manual intervention and reducing manufacturing complexity while ensuring unique device identification
Data Source
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AI summary
Techniques to facilitate feature licensing of industrial devices employed in an industrial automation environment are disclosed herein. In at least one implementation, a security certificate for an industrial device is provisioned based on a first private key associated with the industrial device, wherein the first private key is securely stored in a hardware root of trust within the industrial device. A device information package for the industrial device is generated based on the security certificate, wherein the device information package is encrypted with a first public key paired with the first private key and signed by a certificate authority using a second private key. The device information package is provided to the industrial device, wherein the industrial device is configured to validate the device information package using a second public key paired with the second private key and decrypt the device information package with the first private key.