Secure Element APDU Scheduling for Responsive Heavy Operations
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Secure elements face significant resource constraints due to frequent, resource-intensive operations such as encryption and memory cleaning, which reduce their responsiveness and are unsuitable for the high demands of 5G networks.
Innovation Solution
A method and secure element configuration that divides main operations into elementary operations, managing their execution by utilizing a time counter to determine available processing time and executing these operations in iterations during the remaining time after APDU command processing, allowing for extended processing time without blocking subsequent commands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If resource-intensive operations such as encryption are performed frequently in secure elements, then security authentication is improved, but processing resources are consumed for long periods reducing responsiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a main resource-intensive operation into multiple elementary operations that can be executed in smaller increments. This segmentation allows the secure element to process encryption and other heavy tasks in manageable chunks, freeing resources between executions to respond to host equipment requests, thereby maintaining both security functionality and system responsiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic execution of elementary operations during available time slots between APDU command processing. By scheduling elementary operations periodically when resources are available, the system ensures that resource-intensive tasks complete over time without blocking critical authentication operations, balancing security requirements with responsiveness
2Reliability
If main operations are executed completely before responding to host equipment, then operation completion is ensured, but responsiveness to host requests is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By splitting the main operation into elementary operations, the patent enables the system to make progress on resource-intensive tasks without waiting for complete execution. The secure element can process APDU commands and respond to host equipment while continuing to execute elementary operations in the background, ensuring both operation completion and timely responsiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent triggers the execution of elementary operations in advance during available time slots before they are needed. This preliminary action allows the secure element to prepare and process parts of resource-intensive operations ahead of time, reducing the time required to complete them and improving overall responsiveness to host requests
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to the management of the execution of resource-intensive operations within a secure element. The operation is formed of a plurality of elementary operations. In order to prevent the operation from monopolizing resources over a long period while high responsiveness of the secure element is sought, in particular in 5G-related technologies, provision is made, upon receipt of an APDU command from a host equipment, to trigger a time counter in order to determine an actual processing duration to process the APDU command. If this duration proves to be less than a predefined duration allocated to the APDU command, one or more of said elementary operations may be executed during the remaining time of said allocated duration. Upon expiry of this allocated duration, the secure element sends a response to the APDU command. The operation may thus be executed gradually without preventing the secure element from being highly responsive to received APDU commands.