JP5453167B2 - Cryptographic function identification device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an encryption function identification device, and more particularly to an encryption function identification device for identifying whether or not data handled by an information processing device is encrypted.

  Regarding information security of information processing devices such as servers, a security chip (sub-process for decrypting encrypted data held by the information processing device and encrypted data mounted on the motherboard in the information processing device Technology that enhances information security by using an encryption function that can only read data that has been encrypted without an information processing device equipped with a motherboard with the corresponding security chip mounted Has been. For example, in order to ensure the security of data stored in a hard disk (HD) in an information processing apparatus, the motherboard has a security chip for storing an encryption key, and encrypts the data on the hard disk using the encryption key of the security chip. Decoding methods are known. As this type of technology, Patent Document 1 provides a key generation unit that generates an encryption key on an interface board that transmits and receives data to and from the HD of a data processing device, and stores the generated key in its own storage unit. Thus, it is disclosed that the data processor is held only while the power is turned on.

  By the way, when a motherboard in the information processing apparatus fails, the motherboard (old motherboard) is replaced with a new motherboard. Then, the security chip that holds the encryption / decryption key also changes as the motherboard is replaced. In this case, the encryption function combining the data encrypted on the basis of the old motherboard (for example, the data stored in the HD) and the security chip for decrypting the encrypted data has changed. It is difficult to recover the encrypted data.

JP 2003-195758 A

  When performing maintenance work to replace a failed old motherboard with a new motherboard, identify whether or not the old motherboard is encrypted, and if the information processing device requiring maintenance uses the encryption function, encrypt it. It is necessary to perform a special maintenance procedure for restoring the information processing apparatus that has been used. When this special maintenance procedure is performed, the maintenance work is further time consuming. In addition, when the maintenance staff removes the old motherboard from the information processing apparatus, the power of the motherboard is turned off, so that it is not possible to identify whether or not the encryption function of the board is valid.

An object of the present invention is to identify the effectiveness of a cryptographic function of a replaceable electronic unit equipped with a cryptographic function even when the AC power is off.
Specifically, it is possible to identify whether the encryption function is valid or invalid even when a mother board having the encryption function is removed from the information processing apparatus and the AC power is turned off.

  The present invention preferably includes an electronic component that operates by receiving power from an AC power supply of the information processing apparatus, and encrypts data handled by the information processing apparatus in an electronic unit that is detachable from the information processing apparatus. An encryption function that holds an encryption / decryption key for encryption / decryption, a control unit that enables or disables the encryption function, a battery, and a power supply from the battery, And a signal holder for holding the state of the output signal of the control means, and a notification means for outputting a predetermined notification signal in accordance with the output of the signal holder. Configured as a device.

In a preferred example, the encryption function includes a security chip that holds an encryption / decryption key for encrypting and decrypting data handled by the information processing apparatus, and whether the security chip is valid or invalid. The signal holder having a control microcomputer as the control means, having a memory for storing management information indicating a setting state, and a register for setting to enable or disable the security chip by an external operation Holds the state of the output signal of the control microcomputer in accordance with the setting of the management information stored in the memory.

Preferably, a switch is provided between the signal holder and the notification means, and the notification means outputs the predetermined notification signal according to the output of the signal holder when the switch is closed.
Preferably, the electronic unit is a motherboard on which electronic components of the information processing apparatus are mounted, and the signal holder is supplied with power from the battery and from an auxiliary power source installed outside the motherboard, Is off from the information processing apparatus, the power supply from the auxiliary power supply is turned off.

Preferably, the memory includes a security setting table for managing a setting value when the security chip is valid, a setting value when the security chip is invalid, and a current setting value of the security chip. Remember.
Preferably, the notification means is an LED, and the LED emits light according to the output of the signal holder when the electronic unit is in the detached state from the information processing apparatus.
Preferably, the signal holder is a flip-flop, and the flip-flop holds the same state as the current set value of the security chip set by the control microcomputer.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to identify the effectiveness of a cryptographic function of a replaceable electronic unit equipped with a cryptographic function when the AC power is turned off.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the identification apparatus of the encryption function in the information processing apparatus by embodiment of this invention. The flowchart for demonstrating the encryption process of the data using a security chip. The flowchart which shows the initialization process from AC power supply ON by embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of the security setting table by embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for setting encryption management information according to the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for identifying the validity of a cryptographic function according to an embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a cryptographic function identification apparatus in an information processing apparatus.
In FIG. 1, an information processing apparatus such as a server includes a plurality of processors, a memory (not shown), and a hard disk drive (HDD) 50 that operate with a predetermined operating system (OS). In general, electronic components such as a processor and a memory are mounted on a printed circuit board (not shown), and a plurality of printed circuit boards are mounted on a motherboard 10. The mother board 10 is connected to a power supply 31 arranged outside thereof, and is connected to an auxiliary power supply 311 that starts power supply as soon as AC is turned on and a main power supply 312 that is supplied with power by a user. The auxiliary power supply 311 and the main power supply 312 supply AC power to the electronic components mounted on the motherboard 10.

  An encryption function is provided to ensure the security of data processed by the information processing apparatus and stored in the HDD 50. The encryption function includes a security chip 21 for storing an encryption / decryption key, a nonvolatile memory 22 for storing management information (security setting table (see FIG. 4)) indicating whether the security chip 21 is valid, and a nonvolatile memory 22 The control microcomputer 23 performs read / write control of management information such as security setting information. The control microcomputer 23 has a register, and the contents can be changed and set by an external operation such as an input device. The control microcomputer 22 may also serve as data I / O control for the HDD 50.

As shown in FIG. 4, the security setting table 40 stores a setting value 402 when the security chip 21 is valid, a setting value 403 when the security chip 21 is invalid, and a current setting value 401. When the encryption / decryption key is set in the security chip 21 (that is, when the security chip 21 is valid), the current setting value 401 stores the valid setting value 402. On the other hand, when the encryption / decryption key is not set (that is, when the security chip 21 is invalid), the setting value 403 at the time of invalidity is stored.
Setting or changing the current setting value 401 can be performed as part of an operation when a maintenance person sets or changes the contents of the register of the control microcomputer 23 from the input device.

  As a characteristic matter of the present embodiment, whether or not the encryption function is valid for the mother board 10 even if the auxiliary power supply 311 is turned off due to pulling out of the mother board 10 by maintenance personnel, power failure, power supply line disconnection, or the like. A configuration for holding and managing (whether the security chip 21 is valid or invalid) is installed. That is, the motherboard 10 is connected to the main power supply 312, receives the main power supply 312 and outputs a reset signal, the reset IC 12 is connected to the reset terminal RST, and the control microcomputer 23 is connected to the clock terminal. Further, the flip-flop 11 connected to the auxiliary power supply 311 via the diode 141, the battery 13 that supplies power to the flip-flop 11 via the diode 142, the switch 15 connected to the output terminal 111 of the flip-flop 11, and the switch 15 A light emitting diode (LED) 17 connected to one end of the LED via a resistor 16 is mounted. A flip-flop output inversion signal is connected to the flip-flop input terminal D as it is.

  Since the flip-flop 11 is supplied with power from the auxiliary power supply 311 via the diode 141 and also supplied with power from the battery 13 via the diode 311, the state is maintained according to the output signal of the control microcomputer 23. . That is, the flip-flop 11 holds a state where the security chip 21 is valid or invalid. When the switch 15 is closed by the maintenance staff, the output signal 111 causes the LED 17 to emit light according to the holding state of the flip-flop 11. The maintenance staff can determine the effectiveness of the security chip 21 by looking at the light emission state of the LED 17.

Next, data encryption processing using a security chip, which is a premise of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the security chip 21 is first activated (S200). That is, the maintenance staff of the information processing apparatus operates an input device (not shown) to set the contents of the register included in the control microcomputer 23 so that the control microcomputer 23 can communicate with the security chip 21.

Thereafter, the encryption software is executed on the OS of the processor of the information processing apparatus, and the data stored in the HDD 50 is encrypted according to a predetermined encryption algorithm (S201). Further, the encryption software generates an encryption / decryption key for the encrypted data (S202), and stores the key in the security chip 21 (S203).
As described above, the encryption function which is the premise of the present invention changes the register setting of the control microcomputer 23 to switch the security chip 21 between valid and invalid, and only transfers data when the security chip is activated. Can be encrypted.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an initialization process after the AC power is turned on will be described.
When AC of the power supply 31 is turned on, power supply to the auxiliary power supply 311 is started (S300). Thereafter, when the main power supply 312 is turned on, the reset IC 12 receiving the main power supply 312 outputs a reset signal 121 to the RST terminal of the flip-flop 11 (S302), and resets the flip-flop 11 (S303). The reset output signal 111 of the flip-flop 11 becomes Low.

After the flip-flop 11 is reset, the control microcomputer 23 reads the contents of the security setting table 40 stored in the nonvolatile memory 22 (S304) and determines the current setting value 401 (S305). As a result of the determination, if the current set value 401 is the same as the set value 402 when the security chip is valid, a pulse signal is output once from the control microcomputer 23 (S306, S307). On the other hand, if the current setting value 401 is the same as the setting value 403 when the security chip is invalid, the initialization process is terminated.
By this initialization process, the output signal 111 of the flip-flop 11 can be kept in the same state as the current output state.

Next, the setting operation of the encryption management information will be described with reference to FIG.
The maintenance staff operates the register setting of the control microcomputer 23 from the input device, and changes the setting of whether the security chip is valid or invalid (S500). For example, in order to validate the security chip, an operation is performed from the input device so as to change the current setting value 401 of the security setting table to the “valid” state. Then, the control microcomputer 23 writes the set value when valid in the current set value 401 in the security setting table 40 held in the nonvolatile memory 22 (S501).
Thereafter, the control microcomputer 23 outputs a pulse signal once to the CLK terminal of the flip-flop 11, and inverts the flip-flop output signal 111 (S502). In this state, the encryption function of the information processing apparatus is set to be effective, and data encryption / decryption processing is performed.

  Thereafter, when the motherboard 10 is removed by maintenance personnel during maintenance and the AC of the power supply 31 is turned off, the power supply to the auxiliary power supply 311 and the main power supply 312 is stopped. Therefore, the operations of the reset IC 12, the control microcomputer 23, the nonvolatile memory 22, and the security chip 21 are stopped. However, in addition to being connected to the flip-flop 11 via the diode 141 from the auxiliary power supply 311, the flip-flop 11 is driven without stopping power supply because it is connected via the diode 142 from the battery 13. You can continue. That is, the flip-flop 11 continues to hold a signal that the current setting value 401 in the security setting table 40 has been changed (security is set to be valid) even when the AC power is off. Further, since no current flows in the output signal 111 of the flip-flop 11 unless the switch 15 is pressed, the state of the flip-flop 11 can be maintained for a long time.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, an operation for identifying the validity of the encryption function when the AC of the power supply is turned off will be described.
When the maintenance person removes the motherboard 10 from the information processing apparatus, the maintenance staff pushes the switch 15 of the motherboard 10 (S600) and confirms whether the LED 17 is lit (S601).
At this time, if the security chip 21 of the motherboard 10 is enabled, a high level signal is output to the output terminal 111 of the flip-flop 11. On the other hand, when the security chip 21 is disabled, a low level signal is output to the output terminal 111 of the flip-flop. Therefore, the maintenance staff looks at the lighting state of the LED 17, and if it is lit, it can be determined that the information processing apparatus is encrypted (the security chip is valid) (S603), and the LED 17 is not lit Can be determined that the information processing apparatus is not encrypted (security chip is invalidated) (S604).

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can implement with various deformation | transformation and application.
For example, the switch 15 is not essential in the configuration of the identification device shown in FIG. The reason why the switch 15 is required is that the maintenance staff removes the motherboard, turns on the switch later, and observes the lighting state of the LED 17 from the output signal of the flip-flop 11. However, if the operation procedure is such that the LED lighting state is observed immediately after the motherboard is removed, there is no need to provide a switch. Even in this case, the LED continues to be lit during the holding time of the battery 13.

  As another modification, the notification means for notifying the maintenance staff whether or not the information processing apparatus is encrypted (that is, the validity of the encryption function) is not limited to the optical means such as the LED 17. Sound generation means for generating a special sound for alarming maintenance personnel may be used. Furthermore, when a maintenance person carries a device such as a portable terminal device or a PC (personal computer) at the time of maintenance, it may be a wireless signal transmission means for transmitting a special signal for displaying an alarm on the device. .

  As another modification, in the above-described embodiment, the current validity of the security chip is managed using the security setting table 40, but this table does not necessarily have to be stored in the nonvolatile memory. For example, it may be stored in a general-purpose register in the control microcomputer. As another modification, it is not necessary to have a table configuration like a security setting table. When the table configuration is not used, for example, a flag for managing the current state of the security chip may be provided in the control microcomputer, or the management flag may be provided in the encryption software.

  As another application example, the information processing apparatus is not limited to a server, and is not limited to a replaceable motherboard. For example, when a cryptographic function is mounted on a printed circuit board or memory chip that can be exchanged with a digital camera, or a hard disk drive (HDD), DVD, memory card, or printed circuit board that is detachably attached to a digital television or digital video Etc., it is also possible to mount an identification device having the same encryption function as that of the above-described embodiment in these or an electronic unit such as an HDD or a DVD.

10: Motherboard 21: Security chip 22: Non-volatile memory 23: Control microcomputer 31: Power supply 50: HDD
11: Flip-flop 12: Reset IC 13: Battery 141, 142: Diode 15: Switch 16: Resistor 17: LED
40: Security setting table.

Claims (7)

In an electronic unit equipped with an electronic component that operates by receiving power from an AC power supply of the information processing apparatus,
An encryption function for holding an encryption / decryption key for encrypting and decrypting data handled by the information processing apparatus;
Control means for enabling or disabling the encryption function;
Battery,
A signal holder that receives power from the battery and holds the state of the output signal of the control means in accordance with the setting of the encryption function;
Reporting means for outputting a predetermined reporting signal according to the output of the signal holder;
A device for identifying a cryptographic function in an electronic unit, comprising: The encryption function has a security chip that holds an encryption / decryption key for encrypting and decrypting data handled by the information processing apparatus, and further indicates a current setting state of whether the security chip is valid or invalid Memory for storing management information;
A control microcomputer as the control means having a register that is set to enable or disable the security chip by an external operation, and the signal holder stores the management information stored in the memory 2. The encryption function identifying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the state of the output signal of the control microcomputer is maintained according to the setting. The switch according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a switch is provided between the signal holder and the notification means, and the notification means outputs the predetermined notification signal according to the output of the signal holder when the switch is closed. The identification device for cryptographic functions according to any one of the items. The electronic unit is a mother board on which electronic components of the information processing apparatus are mounted, and the signal holder is supplied with power from the battery and from an auxiliary power source installed outside the mother board, and the mother board is connected to the information processing apparatus. 4. The encryption function identification device according to claim 1, wherein power supply from the auxiliary power supply is turned off when the power supply is disconnected from the power supply. The memory stores a security setting table that manages a setting value when the security chip is enabled, a setting value when the security chip is disabled, and a current setting value of the security chip. 2. The identification device for cryptographic functions according to 2 . The said notification means is LED, and when this electronic unit is in a removal state from the information processing device, the LED emits light according to the output of the signal holder. Identification device for cryptographic functions. 3. The encryption function identification device according to claim 2 , wherein the signal holder is a flip-flop, and the flip-flop holds the same state as the current set value of the security chip set by the control microcomputer.

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