Memory Protection Circuit Selective Data Encryption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing information processing devices face challenges in efficiently managing data transfer and protection between host devices and memory systems, particularly in ensuring data security and maintaining transfer speed, especially when dealing with management information and user data.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a memory processing device with a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, a device controller, and a protection circuit that dynamically controls data encryption and decryption based on buffer sizes and types, ensuring secure data transfer while optimizing transfer speeds by protecting management information and leaving user data unprotected when necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is protected by encryption during transfer between memory system and host device, then data security is improved, but data transfer speed deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different protection strategies to different data types: management information (L2P table entries) is encrypted during transfer to ensure security, while user data is transferred without encryption to maintain high transfer speeds. This selective application of encryption based on data type resolves the contradiction between security and speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments data into two categories: management information and user data. By separating these data types and applying different protection mechanisms to each, the system achieves both security for sensitive management information and high transfer speeds for user data, resolving the speed-security tradeoff.
2Reliability
If all data is encrypted during transfer, then data security is improved, but device controller complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control program is designed to apply encryption selectively based on data type rather than uniformly to all data. This reduces the complexity of the control logic compared to universal encryption, while still providing necessary security for management information.
3Reliability
If user data is encrypted during transfer, then data security is improved, but transfer efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies encryption only to management information while leaving user data unencrypted during transfer. This selective approach maintains high transfer efficiency for user data while providing security for sensitive management information, resolving the contradiction between security and efficiency.
4Reliability
If management information is protected during transfer, then data security is improved, but control load on device controller increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protection circuit automatically handles encryption and decryption of management information based on data type identification, reducing the control load on the device controller. The controller only needs to identify data types, while the protection circuit manages the complex encryption operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A device of one embodiment includes a host device including a first memory unit and host controller, and memory device. The host controller controls input/output accesses to the first memory unit. The memory device includes a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, second memory unit, protection circuit, and device controller. The second memory unit temporarily stores data to be transferred between the first memory unit and the nonvolatile semiconductor memory. The protection circuit protects data to be transferred from the second memory unit to the first memory unit by converting the data into an incomprehensible format. The device controller switches according to a control program whether or not to protect the data by the protection circuit.