Secure Circuit Power Gating for Sensor Privacy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices often include recording sensors like cameras and microphones that can be undesirable in secure or private contexts, but permanently disabling them can interfere with device functionality.
Innovation Solution
A secure circuit controls a gating circuit to enable or disable input sensors, such as through power, clock, or control signal management, ensuring that other device elements cannot re-enable the sensors once disabled, and integrates user authentication mechanisms to manage access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If recording sensors are permanently disabled, then security and privacy are improved, but device functionality is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control of sensor enabling/disabling through a secure circuit that can change the operational state of recording sensors based on contextual conditions. The sensor state transitions between enabled and disabled states dynamically, allowing the system to adapt to different security requirements while maintaining functionality when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
A secure circuit acts as an intermediary between the processor and the recording sensors, controlling whether the processor can access or enable the sensors. This intermediary layer provides security control without permanently disabling the sensors, allowing conditional access based on security policies or authentication states.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If recording sensors are permanently disabled, then illicit recording is reduced, but desired functionality in other contexts is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts sensor availability based on security contexts rather than permanent disabling. The secure circuit can enable or disable sensors in response to different operational modes, authentication states, or security policies, preventing illicit recording while preserving legitimate functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the recording sensors (enabled/disabled state) through secure circuit control rather than permanent physical or firmware disabling. This allows the system to adjust sensor behavior based on security requirements while maintaining the ability to restore functionality when security conditions change.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are disclosed in which a secure circuit controls a gating circuit to enable or disable other circuitry of a device (e.g., one or more input sensors). For example, the gating circuit may be a power gating circuit and the secure circuit may be configured to disable power to an input sensor in certain situations. As another example, the gating circuit may be a clock gating circuit and the secure circuit may be configured to disable the clock to an input sensor. As yet another example, the gating circuit may be configured to gate a control bus and the secure circuit may be configured to disable control signals to an input sensor. In some embodiments, hardware resources included in or controlled by the secure circuit are not accessible by other elements of the device, other than by sending requests to a predetermined set of memory locations (e.g., a secure mailbox).