Trusted Pin Management via TEE and Secure Element

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Solution Overview

Problem

Mobile devices are vulnerable to attacks that result in leakage of personal identification numbers (PINs) due to their susceptibility in non-trusted execution environments, leading to security concerns.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a Trusted User Interface (TUI) within a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) to securely collect and transmit PINs, ensuring that the PIN remains encrypted and inaccessible outside this secure environment, using protocols like Secure Open Mobile Application Programming Interface (OMAPI) and public key cryptography standards (PKCS) for secure channel management.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If applications access card functions in a normal world (non-trusted execution environment), then ease of operation is improved, but security is worsened due to susceptibility to attacks and PIN leakage

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of operationVSAvoidsecurity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the execution environment into a trusted execution environment (TEE) and a normal world. The TEE is further divided into a secure element (SE) for storing sensitive data like PINs and a trusted user interface (TUI) for collecting PINs. This segmentation allows applications to operate easily in the normal world while sensitive operations are isolated in the secure TEE, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and security.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Ease of operation

If PINs are collected and transmitted in a non-trusted environment, then ease of operation is improved, but loss of information is worsened due to PIN leakage

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of operationVSAvoidPIN leakage

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The trusted user interface (TUI) acts as an intermediary between the application in the normal world and the secure element (SE) in the TEE. The TUI collects PINs from users and transmits them securely to the SE through a protected interface. This intermediary ensures that PINs are never exposed to the vulnerable normal world environment, preventing PIN leakage while maintaining ease of operation for users.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If a trusted user interface is implemented within a trusted execution environment, then security is improved, but device complexity is worsened

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesecurityVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the secure element (SE) and trusted user interface (TUI) into a single trusted execution environment (TEE). This integration allows both the secure storage of PINs and the secure collection of PINs to occur within one protected environment, reducing the need for separate hardware components and simplifying the overall device architecture while maintaining high security standards.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS10178087B2Trusted pin management

Publication Date: 2019.01.08 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

AI summary

An apparatus and method for securing a personal identification number (PIN) on a mobile device are provided. The method may include receiving a request for the PIN from a secure element on the mobile device, instantiating a trusted user interface (TUI), collecting the PIN via the TUI, and securely transmitting the PIN from a trusted execution environment (TEE) associated with the TUI to a secure element (SE).