EP1576554A2 - Method of securing computer systems by means of software containment - Google Patents

Method of securing computer systems by means of software containment

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Publication number
EP1576554A2
EP1576554A2 EP03813940A EP03813940A EP1576554A2 EP 1576554 A2 EP1576554 A2 EP 1576554A2 EP 03813940 A EP03813940 A EP 03813940A EP 03813940 A EP03813940 A EP 03813940A EP 1576554 A2 EP1576554 A2 EP 1576554A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
memory
memory manager
owner
key
allocation unit
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP03813940A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Patrice Hameau
Daniel Le Metayer
Cédric MESNIL
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Trusted Logic SAS
Original Assignee
Trusted Logic SAS
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Trusted Logic SAS filed Critical Trusted Logic SAS
Publication of EP1576554A2 publication Critical patent/EP1576554A2/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F7/00—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
    • G07F7/08—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means
    • G07F7/10—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means together with a coded signal, e.g. in the form of personal identification information, like personal identification number [PIN] or biometric data
    • G07F7/1008—Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F12/00—Accessing, addressing or allocating within memory systems or architectures
    • G06F12/14—Protection against unauthorised use of memory or access to memory
    • G06F12/1458—Protection against unauthorised use of memory or access to memory by checking the subject access rights
    • G06F12/1483—Protection against unauthorised use of memory or access to memory by checking the subject access rights using an access-table, e.g. matrix or list
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F21/00—Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
    • G06F21/60—Protecting data
    • G06F21/62—Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
    • G06F21/6218—Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
    • G06F21/6281—Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database at program execution time, where the protection is within the operating system
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F21/00—Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
    • G06F21/70—Protecting specific internal or peripheral components, in which the protection of a component leads to protection of the entire computer
    • G06F21/78—Protecting specific internal or peripheral components, in which the protection of a component leads to protection of the entire computer to assure secure storage of data
    • G06F21/79—Protecting specific internal or peripheral components, in which the protection of a component leads to protection of the entire computer to assure secure storage of data in semiconductor storage media, e.g. directly-addressable memories
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/30—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks
    • G06Q20/34—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
    • G06Q20/341—Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/30—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks
    • G06Q20/34—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
    • G06Q20/357—Cards having a plurality of specified features
    • G06Q20/3576—Multiple memory zones on card
    • G06Q20/35765—Access rights to memory zones
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F12/00—Accessing, addressing or allocating within memory systems or architectures
    • G06F12/02—Addressing or allocation; Relocation
    • G06F12/0223—User address space allocation, e.g. contiguous or non contiguous base addressing

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to securing computer systems by logical confinement of data.
  • the present invention therefore more particularly aims to overcome these drawbacks.
  • the method for securing a computer system by logical confinement of data comprises the separation of said data by owner and their encryption with a dedicated key; this process of separation and encryption is carried out using a procedure comprising the following steps:
  • a memory allocation carried out by a memory manager at the request of another component of the operating system which transmits to the memory manager the identity of the requester.
  • This requester will become the owner of the allocated memory.
  • the transmission of the identity of the requester can be done either by managing a current context, or by passing parameters to the functions of the memory manager; a control by the aforementioned memory manager of all the memory allocation units, each being associated with a possessor of the memory allocation unit.
  • Each memory allocation unit can have only one and only one owner; nevertheless several memory allocation units can have the same owner; - an encryption of the data of each owner using a key associated with this owner;
  • This secret can typically be supplied to the memory manager by the operating system when the owner is introduced into the system or each time a memory allocation unit is accessed;
  • This key can for example be derived from a secret associated with the owner and a so-called "master" key to which only the memory manager has access;
  • this attempt can be triggered via the memory manager: in this case, the check carried out by the memory manager automatically leads to the rejection of the request;
  • this attempt can be unlawfully triggered, without going through the memory manager, by direct access to the physical memory, in the event that the checks carried out by the hardware are not sufficient to rule out this possibility: the third party may then perform a read, but, not having the decryption key, it will obtain unusable data.
  • the method according to the invention does not depend on whether the memory allocation unit is a logical page of fixed size or a block of variable size.
  • the process will be refined as follows: when the memory manager receives a request for allocation of a block on behalf of a possessor, it searches for first a page with the same owner; thus, all blocks allocated by a memory allocation unit owner are grouped in one or more dedicated pages.
  • the method according to the invention can be improved in several ways (not exclusive):
  • the memory manager can associate a key with each possessor and memory allocation unit set. This improvement has two advantages: on the one hand, it reduces the probabilities of discovery of the keys used (in the event of a cryptographic attack) since each key will be used less often; on the other hand, it reduces the risks in case of discovery of a key since only the associated memory allocation unit will be endangered.
  • the memory manager can also integrate into each memory unit a zone allowing its integrity to be verified, for example from a simple signed "checksum" or a cryptographic algorithm.
  • the data contained in this zone is updated by the memory manager on each write access to the unit. It can be used by the memory manager for verification purposes, either systematically each time the unit is accessed, or periodically. The verification consists simply, before the requested access, of recalculating the integrity data from the content of the unit (data in clear) and comparing it with the data contained in the integrity zone. An untimely or illicit modification of the contents of the unit can then be detected, which will strengthen the security of data management.
  • MMU physical protection mechanism
  • applications can be grouped into several major categories (possibly, and not limited to, depending on the level of trust that can be placed in them, the first natural distinction being between user applications and operating system applications ), each category being protected from the others by the physical mechanism and the applications being protected from each other by the software confinement method according to the invention.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Strategic Management (AREA)
  • Software Systems (AREA)
  • Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
  • Mathematical Physics (AREA)
  • Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Bioethics (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Storage Device Security (AREA)

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of securing computer systems involving the logical containment of data. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of securing computer systems, which offers the possibility of executing codes that manipulate data which must be processed separately. The inventive method essentially involves the use of the following: (i) a memory manager for managing memory allocation units which can be typically a fixed-size page or a variable-size block, and (ii) memory allocation owners and requesters which can be typically user applications of the operating system of the computer system or the actual operating system. The system involves the separation of the aforementioned data by the owner and the encryption of same with a dedicated key.

Description

PROCEDE DE SECURISATION DES SYSTEMES INFORMATIQUES PARMETHOD FOR SECURING COMPUTER SYSTEMS BY
CONFINEMENT LOGICIEL.SOFTWARE CONTAINMENT.
La présente invention concerne la sécurisation des systèmes informatiques par confinement logique de données.The present invention relates to securing computer systems by logical confinement of data.
Elle a plus particulièrement pour objet la sécurisation des systèmes informatiques offrant la possibilité d'exécution de codes manipulant des données qui doivent être traitées séparément. Cette séparation est généralement dictée par des besoins de sécurité. A titre d'exemple, les données du système d'exploitation qui conditionnent le bon fonctionnement de la plate-forme ne doivent pas pouvoir être modifiées par une application quelconque. De même, dans les systèmes permettant l'exécution d'applications multiples, les données d'une application doivent généralement être protégées des autres applications.More particularly, it relates to securing computer systems offering the possibility of executing codes manipulating data which must be processed separately. This separation is generally dictated by security needs. For example, the operating system data that conditions the proper functioning of the platform must not be able to be modified by any application. Likewise, in systems that allow multiple applications to run, data from one application must generally be protected from other applications.
Ces besoins prennent dans certains cas un caractère critique ; on peut penser par exemple, et de manière non limitative, aux systèmes embarqués multi- applicatifs du type cartes à puce, terminaux de paiement, assistants digitaux, ou téléphones portatifs, surtout lorsque ces systèmes embarqués permettent le télé- chargement d'applications. En effet, ces applications téléchargées peuvent provenir de sites multiples, qui offrent des garanties de confiance très variées. D'une façon générale, on sait que la plupart des solutions généralement adoptées pour répondre à ce besoin de séparation desdites données de systèmes d'exploitation et d'applications repose sur l'utilisation de mécanismes proposés par le matériel. Typiquement, des unités (physiques) de gestion de mémoire ("MMU, ou Memory Management Unit") associent des espaces physiques à des applications et les protègent contre des accès provenant d'autres applications. Cependant, cette solution, quand elle est disponible, n'est pas très souple et s'associe difficilement aux systèmes d'allocation dynamique de données (le nombre d'espaces physiques étant fixe), spécialement dans le cas des systèmes embarqués disposant de peu de ressources et soumis à de fortes contraintes de sécurité.These needs take on a critical character in certain cases; one can think for example, and in a nonlimiting manner, of multi-application embedded systems of the smart card type, payment terminals, digital assistants, or portable telephones, especially when these embedded systems allow the downloading of applications. Indeed, these downloaded applications can come from multiple sites, which offer a wide variety of confidence guarantees. In general, we know that most of the solutions generally adopted to meet this need for separation of said data from operating systems and applications are based on the use of mechanisms proposed by the hardware. Typically, (physical) memory management units (MMUs) associate physical spaces with applications and protect them against access from other applications. However, this solution, when it is available, is not very flexible and is difficult to associate with dynamic data allocation systems (the number of physical spaces being fixed), especially in the case of embedded systems having few resources and subject to strong security constraints.
La présente invention a donc plus particulièrement pour but de palier à ces inconvénients.The present invention therefore more particularly aims to overcome these drawbacks.
Elle propose, à cet effet, de rendre plus flexible la sécurisation des données et de l'étendre au cas d'allocation dynamique de mémoire.To this end, it proposes making data security more flexible and extending it to the case of dynamic memory allocation.
Elle fait essentiellement intervenir : - au moins un gestionnaire de mémoire gérant des unités d'allocation mémoire qui peuvent être typiquement une page de taille fixe ou un bloc de taille variable, - au moins des possesseurs et des demandeurs d'allocation mémoire pouvant être typiquement des applications de l'utilisateur du système d'exploitation du système informatique ou le système d'exploitation lui- même.It essentially involves: - at least one memory manager managing memory allocation units which can typically be a page of fixed size or a block of variable size, - at least owners and requesters of memory allocation which can typically be applications of the operating system user of the computer system or the operating system itself.
Selon l'invention, le procédé de sécurisation d'un système informatique par confinement logique de données comprend la séparation desdites données par possesseur et leur chiffrement avec une clé dédiée ; ce processus de séparation et de chiffrement s'effectue grâce à un mode opératoire comprenant les étapes suivantes :According to the invention, the method for securing a computer system by logical confinement of data comprises the separation of said data by owner and their encryption with a dedicated key; this process of separation and encryption is carried out using a procedure comprising the following steps:
- une allocation de mémoire réalisée par un gestionnaire de mémoire à la demande d'un autre composant du système d'exploitation qui transmet audit gestionnaire de mémoire l'identité du demandeur. Ce demandeur deviendra le possesseur de la mémoire allouée. La transmission de l'identité du demandeur peut se faire soit par la gestion d'un contexte courant, soit par le passage de paramètres aux fonctions du gestionnaire de mémoire ; - un contrôle par le susdit gestionnaire de mémoire de l'ensemble des unités d'allocation mémoire, chacune étant associée à un possesseur de l'unité d'allocation mémoire. Chaque unité d'allocation mémoire ne peut avoir qu'un et un seul possesseur ; néanmoins plusieurs unités d'allocation mémoire peuvent avoir le même possesseur ; - un chiffrement des données de chaque possesseur à l'aide d'une clé associée à ce possesseur ;a memory allocation carried out by a memory manager at the request of another component of the operating system which transmits to the memory manager the identity of the requester. This requester will become the owner of the allocated memory. The transmission of the identity of the requester can be done either by managing a current context, or by passing parameters to the functions of the memory manager; a control by the aforementioned memory manager of all the memory allocation units, each being associated with a possessor of the memory allocation unit. Each memory allocation unit can have only one and only one owner; nevertheless several memory allocation units can have the same owner; - an encryption of the data of each owner using a key associated with this owner;
- éventuellement une utilisation par le gestionnaire de mémoire d'un secret associé à chaque possesseur. Ce secret peut typiquement être fourni au gestionnaire de mémoire par le système d'exploitation au moment de l'introduction du possesseur dans le système ou à chaque accès à une unité d'allocation mémoire ;- possibly a use by the memory manager of a secret associated with each possessor. This secret can typically be supplied to the memory manager by the operating system when the owner is introduced into the system or each time a memory allocation unit is accessed;
- éventuellement une utilisation par le gestionnaire de mémoire d'une clé pour chaque possesseur. Cette clé peut par exemple être dérivée d'un secret associé au possesseur et une clé dite "maître" à laquelle seul le gestionnaire de mémoire a accès ;- possibly a use by the memory manager of a key for each owner. This key can for example be derived from a secret associated with the owner and a so-called "master" key to which only the memory manager has access;
- une vérification par le gestionnaire de mémoire, pour chaque demande d'accès à une unité d'allocation mémoire, de l'identité du demandeur ; si cette identité n'est pas identique à celle du possesseur de ladite unité d'allocation mémoire, alors l'accès à l'unité d'allocation mémoire est refusé par le gestionnaire de mémoire ; - une réalisation par le gestionnaire de mémoire du chiffrement (dans le cas d'une demande d'écriture) ou du déchiffrement (dans le cas d'une demande de lecture) dés données concernées avec la clé associée au possesseur, cette clé pouvant être recalculée par le gestionnaire de mémoire.a verification by the memory manager, for each request for access to a memory allocation unit, of the identity of the requester; if this identity is not identical to that of the owner of said memory allocation unit, then access to the memory allocation unit is refused by the memory manager; an implementation by the memory manager of the encryption (in the case of a write request) or of the decryption (in the case of a read request) of the data concerned with the key associated with the possessor, this key being able to be recalculated by the memory manager.
Ainsi, les données des différents possesseurs étant chiffrées de manière automatique, par un secret que seul le gestionnaire de mémoire connaît, il est impossible pour une application d'avoir accès aux données d'un autre possesseur.Thus, the data of the different owners being encrypted automatically, by a secret that only the memory manager knows, it is impossible for an application to have access to the data of another owner.
Deux situations peuvent se présenter lorsqu'un tiers tente d'accéder à une unité d'allocation mémoire qui ne lui appartient pas :Two situations can arise when a third party tries to access a memory allocation unit that does not belong to it:
- cette tentative peut être déclenchée par l'intermédiaire du gestionnaire de mémoire : dans ce cas, le contrôle effectué par le gestionnaire de mémoire conduit automatiquement au rejet de la demande ;- this attempt can be triggered via the memory manager: in this case, the check carried out by the memory manager automatically leads to the rejection of the request;
- cette tentative peut être déclenchée de manière illicite, sans passer par l'intermédiaire du gestionnaire de mémoire, par accès direct à la mémoire physique, dans le cas où les vérifications effectuées par le matériel ne suffisent pas à écarter cette possibilité : le tiers pourra alors effectuer une lecture, mais, ne disposant pas de la clé de déchiffrement, il obtiendra des données inutilisables.- this attempt can be unlawfully triggered, without going through the memory manager, by direct access to the physical memory, in the event that the checks carried out by the hardware are not sufficient to rule out this possibility: the third party may then perform a read, but, not having the decryption key, it will obtain unusable data.
A partir du moment où la clé maître est mémorisée dans une zone protégée, la confidentialité des données est donc préservée dans les deux cas.From the moment the master key is stored in a protected area, the confidentiality of the data is therefore preserved in both cases.
Avantageusement, le procédé selon l'invention ne dépend pas du fait que l'unité d'allocation mémoire soit une page logique de taille fixe ou un bloc de taille variable. Dans le cas où l'unité d'allocation est la page, le procédé se raffinera de la façon suivante : lorsque le gestionnaire de mémoire reçoit une demande d'allocation d'un bloc pour le compte d'un possesseur, il recherche d'abord une page ayant le même possesseur ; ainsi, tous les blocs alloués par un possesseur d'unité d'allocation mémoire se trouvent regroupés dans une ou plusieurs pages dédiées.Advantageously, the method according to the invention does not depend on whether the memory allocation unit is a logical page of fixed size or a block of variable size. In the case where the allocation unit is the page, the process will be refined as follows: when the memory manager receives a request for allocation of a block on behalf of a possessor, it searches for first a page with the same owner; thus, all blocks allocated by a memory allocation unit owner are grouped in one or more dedicated pages.
Le procédé selon l'invention pourra être amélioré de plusieurs manières (non exclusives) :The method according to the invention can be improved in several ways (not exclusive):
- Au lieu d'associer une clé unique à un possesseur donné, le gestionnaire de mémoire peut associer une clé à chaque ensemble possesseur et unité d'allocation mémoire. Cette amélioration a deux avantages : d'une part, elle réduit les probabilités de découverte des clés utilisées (en cas d'attaque cryptographique) puisque chaque clé sera utilisée moins souvent ; d'autre part, elle réduit les risques en cas de découverte d'une clé puisque seule l'unité d'allocation mémoire associée sera mise en danger.- Instead of associating a unique key with a given possessor, the memory manager can associate a key with each possessor and memory allocation unit set. This improvement has two advantages: on the one hand, it reduces the probabilities of discovery of the keys used (in the event of a cryptographic attack) since each key will be used less often; on the other hand, it reduces the risks in case of discovery of a key since only the associated memory allocation unit will be endangered.
- Le gestionnaire de mémoire peut également intégrer dans chaque unité de mémoire une zone permettant d'en vérifier l'intégrité, par exemple à partir d'un simple "checksum" (somme des contrôles) signé ou d'un algorithme cryptographique. La donnée contenue dans cette zone est mise à jour par le gestionnaire de mémoire à chaque accès en écriture à l'unité. Elle peut être utilisée par le gestionnaire de mémoire à des fins de vérification, soit systématiquement à chaque accès à l'unité, soit de façon périodique. La vérification consiste simplement, avant l'accès demandé, à recalculer la donnée d'intégrité à partir du contenu de l'unité (données en clair) et à la comparer à la donnée contenue dans la zone d'intégrité. Une modification intempestive ou illicite du contenu de l'unité pourra alors être détectée, ce qui renforcera la sécurité de la gestion des données.- The memory manager can also integrate into each memory unit a zone allowing its integrity to be verified, for example from a simple signed "checksum" or a cryptographic algorithm. The data contained in this zone is updated by the memory manager on each write access to the unit. It can be used by the memory manager for verification purposes, either systematically each time the unit is accessed, or periodically. The verification consists simply, before the requested access, of recalculating the integrity data from the content of the unit (data in clear) and comparing it with the data contained in the integrity zone. An untimely or illicit modification of the contents of the unit can then be detected, which will strengthen the security of data management.
- L'association de différents niveaux de sécurité aux applications et l'utilisation de moyens de chiffrement différents (typiquement algorithmes, longueurs de clés) selon le niveau de sécurité associé permettent de proportionner le coût de mise en oeuvre (temps d'exécution notamment) à l'objectif recherché en matière de sécurité.- The association of different security levels to applications and the use of different encryption means (typically algorithms, key lengths) depending on the associated security level make it possible to proportion the cost of implementation (execution time in particular) to the objective sought in terms of security.
A titre d'exemple non limitatif, il pourra être justifié de réserver les moyens cryptographiques les plus puissants (et les plus coûteux) pour la protection d'une unité de mémoire destinée à recevoir des clefs de chiffrement ou des droits d'accès.By way of nonlimiting example, it may be justified to reserve the most powerful (and the most expensive) cryptographic means for the protection of a memory unit intended to receive encryption keys or access rights.
- La combinaison du procédé selon l'invention à un mécanisme de protection physique (MMU) permet une protection à granularité plus fine.- The combination of the method according to the invention with a physical protection mechanism (MMU) allows protection with finer granularity.
Par exemple, les applications peuvent être regroupées en plusieurs grandes catégories (éventuellement, et de manière non limitative, selon le niveau de confiance qu'on peut leur accorder, la première distinction naturelle pouvant être entre applications des utilisateurs et applications du système d'exploitation), chaque catégorie étant protégée des autres par le mécanisme physique et les applications étant protégées entre elles par le procédé de confinement logiciel selon l'invention. For example, applications can be grouped into several major categories (possibly, and not limited to, depending on the level of trust that can be placed in them, the first natural distinction being between user applications and operating system applications ), each category being protected from the others by the physical mechanism and the applications being protected from each other by the software confinement method according to the invention.

Claims

REVENDICATIONS
1. Procédé de sécurisation par confinement logiciel d'un système informatique qui exécute des codes manipulant des données, faisant intervenir :1. Method for securing by software confinement of a computer system which executes codes manipulating data, involving:
- au moins un gestionnaire de mémoire gérant des unités d'allocation mémoire qui peuvent être typiquement une page de taille fixe ou un bloc de taille variable,at least one memory manager managing memory allocation units which can typically be a page of fixed size or a block of variable size,
- au moins des possesseurs et des demandeurs d'unités d'allocation mémoire pouvant être typiquement une application de l'utilisateur du système d'exploitation du système informatique ou le système d'exploitation lui-même, caractérisé en ce qu'il comprend les étapes suivantes :at least possessors and applicants for memory allocation units which can typically be an application of the user of the operating system of the computer system or the operating system itself, characterized in that it comprises the following steps :
- une allocation de mémoire réalisée par le gestionnaire de mémoire à la demande d'un autre composant du système d'exploitation qui transmet audit gestionnaire de mémoire l'identité du demandeur ; un contrôle par le susdit gestionnaire de mémoire de l'ensemble des unités d'allocation, chacune étant associée à un possesseur de l'unité d'allocation mémoire ; - un chiffrement des données de chaque possesseur à l'aide d'une clé associée à ce possesseur ;a memory allocation carried out by the memory manager at the request of another component of the operating system which transmits to the memory manager the identity of the requester; a control by the aforementioned memory manager of all of the allocation units, each being associated with a possessor of the memory allocation unit; - an encryption of the data of each owner using a key associated with this owner;
- une vérification par le gestionnaire de mémoire, pour chaque demande d'accès à une unité d'allocation mémoire, de l'identité du demandeur ; si cette identité n'est pas identique à celle du possesseur de ladite unité d'allocation mémoire, alors l'accès à l'unité d'allocation mémoire est refusé par le gestionnaire de mémoire ;a verification by the memory manager, for each request for access to a memory allocation unit, of the identity of the requester; if this identity is not identical to that of the owner of said memory allocation unit, then access to the memory allocation unit is refused by the memory manager;
- une réalisation par le gestionnaire de mémoire du chiffrement (dans le cas d'une demande d'écriture) ou du déchiffrement (dans le cas d'une demande de lecture) des données concernées avec la clé associée au possesseur, cette clé étant au moins recalculée par le gestionnaire de mémoire. an implementation by the memory manager of the encryption (in the case of a write request) or of the decryption (in the case of a read request) of the data concerned with the key associated with the owner, this key being at less recalculated by the memory manager.
2. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que l'unité d'allocation est la page, et que le gestionnaire de mémoire, lorsqu'il reçoit une demande d'allocation d'un bloc pour le compte d'un possesseur d'unité d'allocation mémoire, recherche d'abord une page ayant le même possesseur de façon à ce que tous les blocs alloués par ledit possesseur se trouvent regroupés dans une ou plusieurs pages dédiées.2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the allocation unit is the page, and that the memory manager, when it receives a request for allocation of a block on behalf of a possessor d 'memory allocation unit, first searches for a page having the same owner so that all the blocks allocated by said owner are grouped in one or more dedicated pages.
3. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que la transmission de l'identité du demandeur se fait soit par la gestion d'un contexte courant, soit par le passage de paramètres aux fonctions du gestionnaire de mémoire.3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the transmission of the identity of the requester is done either by managing a current context, or by passing parameters to the functions of the memory manager.
4. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que le gestionnaire de mémoire calcule dynamiquement la clé d'un possesseur à partir d'un secret associé audit possesseur et d'une clé dite "maître" à laquelle seul le gestionnaire de mémoire a accès.4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the memory manager dynamically calculates the key of a possessor from a secret associated with said possessor and a so-called "master" key to which only the memory manager has access.
5. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que le gestionnaire de mémoire associe une clé à chaque ensemble possesseur et unité d'allocation mémoire au lieu d'associer une clé unique à chaque possesseur.5. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the memory manager associates a key with each possessor and memory allocation unit instead of associating a unique key with each possessor.
6. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que le gestionnaire de mémoire intègre dans chaque unité d'allocation mémoire une zone permettant d'en vérifier l'intégrité.6. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the memory manager integrates in each memory allocation unit a zone allowing its integrity to be verified.
7. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce qu'il associe différents niveaux de sécurité aux applications et utilise des moyens de chiffrement différents selon le niveau de sécurité associé. 7. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it associates different security levels with the applications and uses different encryption means according to the associated security level.
8. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce qu'il est combiné à un mécanisme de protection physique.8. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it is combined with a physical protection mechanism.
9. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce qu'il est implémenté sur un système embarqué tel un terminal du type téléphone portatif, un terminal de paiement bancaire, un terminal de paiement portatif, un assistant digital ou "PDA", une carte à puce. 9. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it is implemented on an on-board system such as a terminal of the portable telephone type, a bank payment terminal, a portable payment terminal, a digital assistant or "PDA", a card smart.
EP03813940A 2002-12-24 2003-12-23 Method of securing computer systems by means of software containment Withdrawn EP1576554A2 (en)

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FR0216933 2002-12-24
FR0216933A FR2849233B1 (en) 2002-12-24 2002-12-24 METHOD FOR SECURING COMPUTER SYSTEMS BY SOFTWARE CONFINEMENT
PCT/FR2003/003904 WO2004059493A2 (en) 2002-12-24 2003-12-23 Method of securing computer systems by means of software containment

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CN100378764C (en) 2008-04-02
WO2004059493A3 (en) 2004-12-16
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AU2003303410A1 (en) 2004-07-22
US20060059374A1 (en) 2006-03-16

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