Secure Smart Card Reader Logging and Signature Generation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing secure smart card reader systems are vulnerable to attacks where malware on the host computer intercepts PIN entry or data substitution, as user interaction, including sensitive operations, occurs on insecure host devices, and the lack of standardized command sets for smart cards complicates firewall configuration, potentially allowing insecure card readers to be used.
Innovation Solution
A secure smart card reader that logs security-related events and generates a reader signature on these logs, using cryptographic algorithms, to detect and prevent attacks by ensuring data approval occurs on a secure interface and maintaining a secure logging mode to verify user interactions and commands exchanged with the smart card, without requiring precise knowledge of sensitive smart card commands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If user interaction including PIN entry occurs on the host computer, then ease of operation is improved, but security is worsened due to vulnerability to malware attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts sensitive operations (PIN entry, data approval) from the insecure host computer environment and relocates them to the secure smart card reader device. The reader's processor directly receives PIN input from the user interface and approves or rejects data signing operations without involving the host computer, thereby isolating sensitive operations from malware attacks while maintaining user convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The smart card reader acts as an intermediary device between the user and the smart card. It mediates sensitive operations by receiving user input through its own secure interface, making security decisions independently, and only communicating necessary commands to the smart card, thereby preventing malware on the host computer from intercepting or manipulating sensitive data.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a firewall is configured to block insecure card readers, then security is improved, but device complexity increases due to need for precise command knowledge
Solution Approach 1:
The smart card reader performs self-verification by using its processor to validate whether received commands originate from approved applications. The reader independently checks command authenticity and makes security decisions without requiring external firewall configuration or precise knowledge of smart card command sets, thereby simplifying the system while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The reader's command approval mechanism is designed to be universal and application-agnostic. It can identify and approve commands from different applications using various smart card types without requiring specific firewall rules for each command type, thereby reducing configuration complexity while effectively blocking insecure readers.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the reader logs all security events and generates signatures, then detection capability is improved, but loss of time increases due to logging overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The reader maintains security event logs in real-time during normal operation, preparing the data structure and accumulating events before an attack occurs. When an attack is detected or the signing operation completes, the pre-prepared log data can be quickly signed and verified, reducing the time penalty of logging operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces time-consuming manual security verification processes with automated cryptographic signature generation. The processor automatically signs the security log using cryptographic algorithms, providing rapid and reliable attack detection without requiring time-consuming manual analysis of logged events.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively detects and prevents attacks by ensuring user approval on a secure interface and logging critical events, allowing the reader to be used with various smart card types, reducing the need for complex firewall configurations and enhancing security against malware and insecure reader usage.
Implementation Method 1
The smart card reader is adapted to generate a reader signature on the log using a cryptographic algorithm parameterized with a cryptographic key stored in the smart card reader
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention provides a secure smart card reader enabled to make reader signatures on data representative of events and actions which may be security related and which may comprise data representative of reader commands the reader receives from a host or remote application, smart card commands the reader exchanges with an inserted smart card, data the reader presents to the user for approval, and/or configuration parameters the reader applies when dealing with any of the foregoing. The smart card reader may furthermore be adapted to maintain logs of certain events and actions which may comprise exchanging reader commands with a host or remote application, exchanging smart card commands with an inserted smart card, and/or interactions with a user. The logs may comprise data representative of reader commands the reader receives from a host or remote application, smart card commands the reader exchanges with an inserted smart card, data the reader presents to the user for approval, and/or configuration parameters the reader applies when dealing with any of the foregoing. The secure smart card reader may be adapted to generate a reader signature over one or more of these logs.