Chain of Trust for Virtual Endpoint Tampering

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing trust verification schemes for virtual endpoints are vulnerable to tampering, as a rogue process can provide false posture data, compromising the integrity of the trust establishment process.

Innovation Solution

A chain of trust is generated based on load time and run time measurements grounded in hardware, using a transitive trust tree with a root of trust in hardware, and including metadata with integrity markers digitally signed by a protected key, ensuring that the verifier can assess the endpoint's suitability for operation or data communication.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional trust verification schemes are used where endpoints provide posture data to verifiers, then trust establishment can be achieved, but the system becomes vulnerable to tampering by rogue processes that can provide false posture data

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetrust verification reliabilityVSAvoidvulnerability to tampering

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces hardware-based measurement components as intermediaries between the endpoint and verifier. These hardware components (such as trusted platform modules or secure enclaves) act as mediators that objectively measure and report the endpoint's posture, preventing rogue software processes from manipulating the data. The hardware intermediary ensures that posture information cannot be falsified by malicious software.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the software-based trust verification mechanism with a hardware-based measurement system. Instead of relying on software agents to report posture data (which can be compromised), the system uses hardware components to physically measure and verify the endpoint's state. This substitution of software with hardware fundamentally eliminates the vulnerability to software-based tampering.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Reliability

If hardware-based chain of trust measurements are implemented, then resistance to tampering is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional hardware components and measurement mechanisms

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetampering resistanceVSAvoidhardware measurement system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements chain of trust measurements that occur during the boot and initialization process, before the operating system and applications are loaded. By performing measurements preliminarily during hardware initialization, the system establishes a trusted baseline state without requiring complex ongoing measurement mechanisms. The root of trust is established early, and subsequent measurements build upon this foundation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent divides the trust verification process into discrete, manageable segments: root of trust establishment, bootloader measurement, OS measurement, and application measurement. Each segment is independently measured and verified, allowing the complex verification process to be broken down into simpler, modular components that can be implemented and maintained more easily.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS8886929B2Generating a chain of trust for a virtual endpoint

Publication Date: 2014.11.11 INTEL CORP

AI summary

A method includes generating a chain of trust for a virtual endpoint. The virtual endpoint is associated with a layered architecture that includes layers, which include a physical layer. For each layer, a code image of a process of the layer is measured before the process is loaded to form a node of the chain of trust.