Protected Media Pipeline for Secure Content Processing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing media processing systems are vulnerable to unauthorized access and attacks, compromising the security of digital media content from the time it is decrypted to the end of its processing and rendering, leading to potential unauthorized use, duplication, and distribution.

Innovation Solution

A trusted media system is implemented with a protected media pipeline operating within a secure environment, which processes media content through a series of transform functions and ensures that only authorized actions are taken with the content, using encryption, digital rights management, and secure connections to prevent unauthorized access and malicious attacks.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If media content is decrypted for processing, then media processing functionality is enabled, but security vulnerability increases allowing unauthorized access and attacks

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia processing capabilityVSAvoidsecurity of media content

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the media processing environment into a protected space and an unprotected space. The protected space contains the media pipeline and decrypted media content, isolated from the unprotected general operating system environment. This segmentation allows media processing to proceed while preventing unauthorized access by containing sensitive operations in a secure boundary.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A protected space acts as an intermediary layer between the media content and the general operating system. This intermediary enforces security policies, controls access to decrypted media, and mediates all interactions between the media pipeline and external components, preventing direct unauthorized access while enabling necessary processing operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If a protected media pipeline is implemented, then security against unauthorized access is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity of media contentVSAvoidsystem architecture complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The protected media pipeline merges multiple security functions into a unified protected space that includes the media source, transform mechanisms, and sink. By combining these components within a single protected boundary, the system reduces overall complexity compared to implementing separate security mechanisms for each component while maintaining comprehensive security coverage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS9363481B2Protected media pipeline

Publication Date: 2016.06.07 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

A system for processing a media content comprising an application space, a media control mechanism operating in the application space, the media control mechanism controlling the operation of the system, a user interface adapted to provide input to the media control mechanism, a protected space distinct from the application space, and a protected media pipeline operating in the protected space, the protected media pipeline coupled to the media control mechanism, the protected media pipeline adapted to access the media content, process the media content, and output the media content.