Secure Graphics Card Display for Keylogger Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Computing devices can be compromised by malware, allowing unauthorized users to capture keylogging and screen grabbing, which compromises user privacy and security when entering sensitive information.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing an internal graphics card's secure storage area to generate a secure display for entering passwords and sensitive information, bypassing the operating system, and communicating directly with cloud service providers through protocols like FIDO for authentication, ensuring that the secure display is not accessible to the operating system or malware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the operating system is used to display input fields, then the system is simple and easy to operate, but the input can be captured by malware (keyloggers and screengrabbers)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the display function into two independent paths: the traditional OS-controlled path for general display and a new secure path through the graphics card's frame buffer for sensitive input. This segmentation allows the secure input field to be isolated from malware while maintaining overall system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The graphics card's frame buffer acts as an intermediary between the user input and the display. Instead of the OS directly managing the display buffer (making it vulnerable to keyloggers), the frame buffer serves as a secure intermediary that the OS cannot access, thereby protecting input from malware while maintaining ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If the operating system accesses the display buffer, then the system can control display output, but the display can be accessed by malware for screen grabbing
Solution Approach 1:
The display buffer is segmented into two separate memory spaces: one accessible to the OS for general display control and another (secure frame buffer) that is inaccessible to the OS and thus inaccessible to malware. This allows the system to maintain display control capability while preventing screen grabbing.
Solution Approach 2:
The secure display functionality is extracted from the OS-controlled display buffer and placed in the graphics card's frame buffer. This extraction removes the vulnerability from the display path while preserving the essential display control function, as the frame buffer can still be written to and displayed through the graphics card.
3Reliability
If a secure display bypassing the OS is implemented, then input security is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The graphics card's frame buffer is given multiple functions: it serves as both the normal display buffer for OS-controlled rendering and as a secure authentication display buffer that bypasses the OS. This multi-functionality achieves secure authentication without adding separate hardware, thereby limiting the increase in system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The graphics card's frame buffer inherently provides secure storage and display capabilities through its own hardware architecture. The frame buffer's physical isolation from the OS creates a secure environment automatically, without requiring additional software layers or complex system reconfiguration. The hardware itself provides the security function.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a graphics card comprising a first storage area accessible by an operating system and a second storage area inaccessible by the operating system. A processing device coupled to the graphics card can cause, via one or more drivers associated with the operating system, a first screen to be presented in a graphical user interface (GUI) at a user device based on data read from the first storage area. The processing device can also cause, via one or more drivers associated with the graphics card, a second screen to be presented in the GUI based on data read from the second storage area, wherein the second screen overlays a portion of the first screen and presents one or more selectable inputs for authentication.