Pre-boot Integrity Verification for Secure Computing Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computing systems are vulnerable to sophisticated attacks that capture user information, leading to potential fraudulent transactions, as they cannot effectively prevent keylogger programs or manipulate user displays, and existing security measures are often ignored or bypassed by malicious software.
Innovation Solution
An integrity verification process performed by an integrity verification module on a client computing device before booting the operating system, which gathers and verifies integrity attestation information using a cryptographic module, ensuring the system's security and preventing unauthorized access or modifications, and only allows secure transactions with authorized websites.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional security measures (browsers and internet security programs) are used to warn against visiting websites with invalid security certificates or following phishing links, then user awareness of security risks is improved, but these warnings are commonly ignored and can be disabled by malicious software
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs integrity verification of the computing device before allowing access to secure websites. The integrity verification module checks the device's security state in advance, and only allows access to sites requiring integrity verification if the device passes the check. This preliminary action prevents malicious software from interfering with security warnings, as the integrity check occurs at the hardware level before the operating system and applications can modify or disable warning mechanisms.
2Reliability
If existing operating systems are patched at any level (bootloader, kernel, drivers, etc.) to fix security vulnerabilities, then system security is improved, but such patches can be disabled by malicious software and the system may be infected without user installation
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates security-critical functions from the general operating system. The integrity verification module operates independently at the hardware level, separate from the OS bootloader, kernel, and drivers. This segmentation ensures that even if the OS is patched or modified, the integrity verification module remains intact and can still verify the device's security state, preventing malicious software from disabling security measures.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrity verification module acts as an intermediary between the hardware and the operating system. It verifies the integrity of the device before allowing the OS to run, and can prevent the OS from loading if integrity checks fail. This intermediary layer ensures that security vulnerabilities in the OS cannot be exploited to compromise the overall system security.
3Adaptability or versatility
If new versions of malicious software are continuously developed to target limited sets of users, then attack sophistication is improved, but some malicious software may be undetectable by up-to-date anti-virus and internet security software
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces software-based security detection (anti-virus programs) with hardware-based integrity verification. The integrity verification module uses cryptographic keys stored in hardware to verify the device's security state, rather than relying on software signatures or heuristics. This hardware-based approach is immune to sophisticated malicious software that can disguise itself as legitimate software, as it verifies the actual security state of the device rather than checking for known malware signatures.
Data Source
AI summary
An integrity verification process is performed by an integrity verification module of a client computing device. When the computing device is powered-up, but before an operating system is booted, the integrity verification module performs an integrity check of the computing device and gathers integrity verification information to ensure that the system is secure. If the system passes the integrity check, the system boots to a browser session which is capable of communicating with a cryptographic module. In response to a request from a service provider, the computing device retrieves the integrity verification information and signs the integrity verification information using a private key from the cryptographic module and forwards the signed data to the service provider. The integrity of the computing device may then be verified using a known public key of the cryptographic module that is accessible from a trusted third party.