Secure Peripheral Register Control for XR Privacy Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Extended reality (XR) devices face significant security and privacy concerns due to unauthorized data collection and surveillance, with potential risks from hacking and unauthorized access to personal data, as well as data sharing without user consent, exacerbated by the integration with various apps and services.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a secure register system with an extensible protection unit (XPU) and peripheral control registers to manage access permissions, using a trusted zone of a central processing unit (CPU) or system on a chip (SoC) for authentication and authorization, allowing fine-grained control over peripheral functionalities and data access, including display mode, resolution, and network configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If continuous data collection through cameras and microphones is implemented in XR devices, then functionality and user experience are improved, but security risks and privacy concerns worsen due to unauthorized recording and surveillance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control of peripheral devices by implementing separate secure registers for different peripheral groups (first group with first secure register, second group with second secure register). This segmentation allows independent authorization control for each peripheral group, enabling the system to collect data from authorized peripherals while blocking unauthorized access to others, thus resolving the contradiction between functionality and security risks
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces secure registers as intermediary control mechanisms between the processor and peripheral devices. These secure registers act as mediators that filter and control access requests, allowing only authorized applications to access specific peripherals. This intermediary layer prevents unauthorized recording and surveillance while maintaining necessary functionality for approved data collection
2Reliability
If access control mechanisms are implemented to prevent unauthorized peripheral access, then security is improved, but device complexity worsens due to multiple secure registers and authorization checks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple authorization control functions into a unified secure register structure where each secure register handles a group of peripherals. The processor combines authorization checks for multiple peripherals through these consolidated registers, reducing the need for separate control mechanisms for each individual peripheral while maintaining comprehensive security control
Solution Approach 2:
The secure registers serve multiple functions simultaneously: they store authorization data, perform access control checks, and manage multiple peripheral groups. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated control mechanisms for each function, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining robust security
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple secure registers are used to control different peripheral groups, then access control precision is improved, but manufacturing complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses parameter changes by implementing secure registers with configurable authorization levels and peripheral group assignments. The system can dynamically adjust which peripherals belong to which groups and what authorization levels are required, providing precise access control without requiring different hardware designs for different configurations, thus easing manufacturing
Data Source
AI summary
Implementations of systems and methods for controlling one or more peripherals of a computing device. The systems and methods may include determining whether a requested change to a secure register is authorized, adjusting a value stored in the secure register in response to determining that the requested change to the secure register is authorized. The systems and methods may include determining, at the one or more peripherals, one or more parameters of the one or more peripherals based on the value stored in the secure register and controlling a functionality of the one or more peripherals based on the one or more parameters or the value stored in the secure register.