Stateless Attestation System for Distributed Trust Verification

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing extranet communication systems face challenges in securely verifying the trustworthiness of user computers interacting over public networks, as they are vulnerable to corruption and security threats without effective centralized solutions for large-scale, distributed environments.

Innovation Solution

A stateless and distributed method where attestation servers assess the trustworthiness of user computers, generating and storing local records that are used to conditionally provide services based on computed trustworthiness levels, utilizing Trusted Platform Module (TPM) signatures and secure counters to prevent circumvention attempts.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a centralized trust verification system is implemented, then security verification capability is improved, but system complexity and single point of failure risk increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetrust verification capabilityVSAvoidsystem architecture complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The centralized trust verification system is segmented into multiple distributed attestation servers that independently verify trustworthiness of user computers. Each server maintains local records and can independently assess trust levels, eliminating the single point of failure while distributing the verification capability across the network infrastructure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A distributed record storage mechanism acts as an intermediary between attestation servers and service providers. Trustworthiness records are stored locally at user computers and intermediated through the network, allowing multiple attestation servers to verify the same trust state without direct communication, thus reducing system complexity while maintaining verification capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If trust records are centrally stored, then verification consistency is improved, but vulnerability to malicious attacks and failures increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveverification consistencyVSAvoidvulnerability to attacks

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Trust verification records are extracted from centralized storage and placed locally at user computers within Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). This extraction removes the central storage vulnerability point while maintaining verification consistency, as records are tamper-evident and can be verified by any attestation server without central coordination.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements beforehand cushioning by storing trust records in TPM hardware modules that provide tamper resistance and secure storage. This prior protection mechanism cushions against malicious attacks before they can compromise the trust records, while the distributed nature prevents single-point failure risks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

3Reliability

If distributed attestation servers are used, then resilience against failures is improved, but communication overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresilience against failuresVSAvoidcommunication overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

Trustworthiness records are generated and stored in advance within the user computer's TPM before any service request occurs. This preliminary action eliminates the need for real-time communication between attestation servers during service provisioning, reducing communication overhead while maintaining the resilience benefits of distributed verification.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Multiple attestation servers can independently access and verify identical trust records stored locally at the user computer. This copying approach allows distributed verification without repeated communication overhead, as each server reads the same local record rather than exchanging information continuously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

4Reliability

If TPM-based verification is implemented, then security against tampering is improved, but device compatibility requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetamper resistanceVSAvoidhardware compatibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system design accommodates multiple hardware implementations by defining a universal interface for trust record storage and verification. While TPM provides enhanced security, the architecture allows alternative implementations to meet equivalent security requirements, making the system adaptable to different hardware capabilities while maintaining tamper resistance through standardized verification protocols.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS9497210B2Stateless attestation system

Publication Date: 2016.11.15 INTEL CORP

AI summary

A method includes assessing a trustworthiness level of a user computer by communication between the user computer and a first server. A record indicating the trustworthiness level is sent from the first server to the user computer, for storage by the user computer. A request is sent from the user computer to a second server, different from the first server, for a service to be provided to the user computer by the second server. The record is provided from the user computer to the second server by communicating between the user computer and the second server. At the second server, the trustworthiness level is extracted from the record, and the requested service is conditionally allowed to be provided to the user computer depending on the extracted trustworthiness level.