Special Purpose IC Data Protection via Process Token Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Special purpose integrated circuits (ICs) lack effective data protection mechanisms, leading to potential data breaches when accessed maliciously, and existing encryption solutions consume processing resources, causing performance slowdowns.
Innovation Solution
A process token is obtained from a host and stored in a special purpose IC, with data written to a second memory portion only accessible if the read request includes a matching read token, ensuring secure data access without significant performance impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data in special purpose IC memory is encrypted to protect against malicious attacks, then data security is improved, but processing resources are consumed and performance slows down
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-storing encrypted data in the special purpose IC memory before it is needed for processing. The decryption keys are kept separate and only introduced when actually needed for data retrieval. This allows the data to be prepared and secured in advance without consuming processing resources during the actual computation tasks, thus resolving the contradiction between security and performance.
2Productivity
If no protection mechanism is implemented in special purpose IC memory, then processing performance is maintained, but data becomes vulnerable to malicious attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the data protection mechanism into separate components: encrypted data storage is separated from the processing units, and decryption operations are separated from encryption storage. The data is stored in an encrypted state in dedicated memory regions, while decryption keys are managed separately. This segmentation allows the special purpose IC to maintain high processing performance for computational tasks while implementing robust security through dedicated, isolated protection mechanisms.
3Reliability
If encryption is applied to all data in special purpose IC memory, then data protection is enhanced, but resource consumption increases and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing encryption selectively rather than uniformly across all data in the special purpose IC memory. Different memory regions or data types can have different protection levels applied based on their sensitivity requirements. This allows critical data to be heavily protected while less sensitive data can be accessed more efficiently, optimizing the balance between protection and resource consumption by applying the appropriate level of security locally where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products are provided for protecting data in a memory of an integrated circuit (IC). A process token is obtained in a special purpose IC from a host that is external to and communicatively connected to the special purpose IC. The process token is stored in a first memory portion of the special purpose IC. In response to receiving a processing request from the host, the processing request is processed, and data generated by processing the processing request is written in a second memory portion of the special purpose IC. When a read request is received to read the data in the second memory portion, a determination is made whether the read request includes a read token that matches the previously stored process token. If the read token matches the process token, the data in the second memory portion may be returned to the host.