KR100574234B1 - External memory card insertable secure data storage apparatus with usb interface, and storing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a USB secure data storage device capable of inserting an external memory card and a storage method thereof. According to the present invention, a USB secure data storage device includes: a USB hub for outputting data input according to a USB signal standard according to a USB signal standard through any one of a plurality of output ports according to a place to be stored; An interface converter for converting data from any one of the output ports according to a memory card interface; A socket connected to the interface converter and configured to insert an external memory card; And a security chip that receives and stores data from any one of the output ports according to a USB interface, but is accessed through a predetermined authentication process. As a result, the USB secure data storage device may further include a memory card interface to read or transfer data from various types of external memory cards.

Description

External memory card insertable secure data storage apparatus with USB interface, and storing method

1 is a block diagram of a general storage device having a USB interface,

2A is a block diagram of a USB secure data storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2B is a block diagram of a USB secure data storage device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a detailed configuration diagram of the security chip 250 of FIGS. 2A and 2B;

4 is a flowchart of a data storage method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a flowchart of a data reading method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to the security and storage of data, and more particularly, to a USB secure data storage device capable of inserting an external memory card and a storage method thereof.

With the development of data storage technology, various types of portable storage devices are used. Among these portable storage devices, a flash memory with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface has a large storage capacity, is easy to carry and connects to a PC, and is widely used in various fields such as storing document data, music, photos, and video files. It is used. However, such USB flash memory is very weak in security. Recently, some USB flash memories have a function such as requiring a password to access a specific area of the USB flash memory. However, data stored in the USB flash memory can be stored by means of physical hacking by a hacker, dumping or copying the memory, and the like. Accessibility is not a fundamental troubleshooting tool.

On the other hand, as an operating system (OS), there is an IC card equipped with a chip operating system (COS), a central processing unit (CPU), a security module, and a memory. IC cards employ encryption technology to securely process various transactions and to encrypt and store data, which are widely used in fields such as electronic wallets, electronic accounts, and personal authentication. But while IC cards are highly secure, their storage capacity is not as great as that of flash memory. In addition, in order to store data on the IC card or read the stored data, a reader capable of reading the IC card is required, but the IC card reader is not as widely used as a USB interface, and thus it is inconvenient to use.

As a portable storage device, there are not only a USB memory having a USB interface, but also a card type memory such as a Secure Digital (SD) card, a Multimedia Card (MMC), a Compact Flash (CF) card, or the like. These memory cards are also a type of portable storage device equipped with flash memory, such as mobile phones, e-books, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, camcorders, personal computers, etc. It is widely used as a data storage device. However, since the interface for transmitting and receiving data with the host is different from the USB interface, a separate socket must exist in the portable devices.

Therefore, if you have both a USB port and an SD card reader as an interface to a peripheral device like a PC, there is no problem in reading and writing data from a storage device having a certain interface. Since the devices of the device usually have only one of the USB interface and the SD / MMC / CF card interface, the memory having only one interface cannot be read by the device having the other interface. For example, there is a problem that it is difficult to transfer the picture data taken by the digital camera having the SD interface to a mobile phone or an MP3 player having only the USB interface.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an IC chip having a USB interface and an interface converting unit capable of inserting and receiving data by inserting an external data card to transfer data from an external data card such as an SD / MMC / CF card. The present invention provides a USB secure data storage device capable of transmitting and receiving an external memory card and a storage method thereof.

Another technical object of the present invention is to configure a storage device by connecting an IC chip having a USB interface and a USB flash memory through a USB hub, and inserting an IC chip having a USB interface and an external data card therein. It is to provide a USB secure data storage device and a storage method further comprising an interface conversion unit capable of transmitting and receiving an external memory card capable of transmitting and receiving data from an external data card, such as SD / MMC / CF card.

According to the present invention, a USB hub for outputting the data input according to the USB signal standard according to the USB signal standard through any one of the output port of the plurality of output ports according to the location to be stored; An interface converter for converting data from any one of the output ports according to a memory card interface; A socket connected to the interface converter and configured to insert an external memory card; And a security chip for receiving and storing data from any one of the output ports according to a USB interface, but accessing through a predetermined authentication process.

The USB secure data storage device may include: a controller configured to generate an address used to store data from one of the output ports to a flash memory, and transfer the data to the flash memory accordingly; And at least one flash memory storing the received data.

In addition, the interface conversion unit converts the USB interface signal according to the SD card, MMC card or Compact Flash (CF) card signal specifications, the socket is that the SD card, MMC card or compact flash card can be inserted into the socket desirable.

On the other hand, according to another field of the present invention, the technical problem is (a) output the data input according to the USB signal standard according to the USB signal standard through any one of the output port of the plurality of output ports according to the location to be stored Doing; And (b) transferring data from any one of the output ports through a socket into which an external memory card for converting data in accordance with a memory card interface is inserted, or transferring data from one of the output ports to a USB interface. It is also achieved by the USB secure data storage method, characterized in that the receiving and storing according to the step of storing in a secure chip accessed through a predetermined authentication process.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a general storage device having a USB interface.

The flash storage device having a USB interface includes a connector 100, a USB interface unit 110, a controller 120, and a flash memory 130. The connector 100 provides an interface for connecting a physical signal line for exchanging data with a host. The USB interface unit 110 connects to a USB bus according to the USB standard, and provides an interface for transmitting data to and receiving data from the host. The controller 120 converts the file system provided to the user to correspond to the physical address and the command of the flash memory 130 so that the flash memory 130 can store data. When accessing data stored in the flash memory 130, the physical address of the flash memory is converted into a logical file system and provided in a form that the host can recognize. The flash memory 130 is a nonvolatile memory, and stored data is not deleted even when power is not supplied.

2A is a block diagram of a USB secure data storage device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The USB secure data storage device includes a connector 200, a USB hub 210, a security chip 250, an interface converter 270, and a memory card socket 280. The connector 200 provides an interface for connecting a physical signal line with the host to exchange data with the host. That is, it provides a physical interface for transmitting data to and receiving data from the host according to the bus standard defined by USB.

The USB hub 210 has a plurality of input / output ports, and transmits data received from the host through the connector 200 to the memory card socket 280 through the interface conversion unit 270 or directly to the security chip 250. To pass. The memory card is inserted into the memory card socket 280 to transfer data read or data received from the security chip 250 to the host. Accordingly, the interface converter 270 converts the USB interface signal into a memory card interface signal or converts the memory card interface signal into a USB interface signal. The memory card may include an SD card, a multimedia card (MMC), a compact flash card (CF), and the like. On the other hand, the security chip 250 has a USB interface is directly connected to the USB hub 210 to transmit and receive data. The detailed configuration of the security chip 250 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3.

2B is a block diagram of a USB secure data storage device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the USB secure data storage device further includes a USB interface unit 220, a controller 230, and a flash memory 240 in addition to the components illustrated in FIG. 2A. Therefore, the USB hub 210 transmits data to the memory card socket 280 via the interface converter 270, transmits data to the flash memory 240 via the USB interface 220, or the security chip 250. Data can be transferred.

The controller 230 transmits the data received from the USB hub 210 and the USB interface 220 to the flash memory 240. To this end, the controller 230 converts the file system provided to the user to correspond to the physical address and command of the flash memory 240 so that the flash memory 240 stores the data. Even when the data stored in the flash memory 240 is accessed, the physical address is converted into a logical file system and provided in a form that the host can recognize.

According to the data storage method according to the present invention, the data received through the connector 200 from the host is stored in the flash memory 240 or the security chip 250 via the USB interface unit 220 and the control unit 230. The memory may be stored in a memory provided in the memory card, or transferred to the interface converter 270 and the memory card socket 280 and stored in a memory card inserted into the memory card socket 280. In this case, the received data is stored in the security chip 250 as it is without performing encryption, or the received data is stored in the security chip 250 by performing encryption, or the received data is stored in the security chip 250. In accordance with the encryption algorithm built in the encryption may be stored in the flash memory 240 or an external memory card.

In more detail with respect to encryption and decryption of data, the encryption is performed by the secret key of the security chip 250, the decryption may be performed by the public key possessed by the host. Encryption algorithms that may be used include both the Data Encryption Standard (DES) and the Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) algorithm, as well as the general encryption algorithm.

Meanwhile, the RF transceiver 260 exchanges data with another device through RF communication. For example, in order to perform a traffic card or electronic money function in a non-contact manner, the traffic card or electronic money related data recorded in the security chip 250 is transmitted through an RF reader. In this case, the security chip 250 operates by receiving power from the RF transceiver 260.

3 is a detailed block diagram of the security chip 250 of FIG. 2.

The security chip 250 includes a USB interface unit 310, a security chip control unit 320, an encryption processing unit 330, and a security data storage unit 340. The RF interface unit 350 may further include an RF interface unit 350 to communicate with an external RF device through the RF transceiver 360.

The USB interface unit 310 is connected to the USB hub 210 to perform data communication. The security chip control unit 320 controls to store the data received through the USB interface unit 310 as it is in the secure data storage unit 340 without an encryption process according to a user's security data storage command, or stores the encryption command in the encryption processing unit. Pass to 330 to encrypt the data. In addition, the data stored in the secure data storage unit 340 is transmitted to the RF transceiver 360 through the RF interface unit 350.

The encryption processing unit 330 encrypts the received data or decrypts the encrypted data according to a predetermined encryption algorithm and outputs the encrypted data. The secure data storage unit 340 receives and stores the unencrypted data through the USB interface unit 310 and the security chip control unit 320, or receives and stores the encrypted data by the encryption processing unit 330. An example of the data stored in the secure data storage unit 340 may be a public certificate, account information, credit card information, and the like. The RF interface unit 350 transmits data stored in the secure data storage unit 340 through the RF transceiver 360 in accordance with a command from an external RF reader for functions such as a traffic card or an electronic wallet.

4 is a flowchart of a data storage method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

When the application program of the host is executed, a user interface screen for storing data is provided, and through this, a user inputs data to be stored, information on whether to encrypt and store it, and in which area to encrypt (S410). ). If it is determined whether or not to store the data encrypted (S420), if the data to be stored is received as an important data to encrypt and receive a command to be stored to perform a security algorithm to encrypt the data to be stored (S430) . If no encryption is to be performed, the encryption process is omitted. Next, it is determined whether the encrypted data or the general data is stored in the secure area (S440), and according to the result, the data is stored in the secure area (S450) or stored in the general area (S460). The security area may be a memory inside the security chip, and the general area may be a flash memory or an external memory card.

5 is a flowchart of a data reading method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

When the application program is executed, a user interface for reading data is provided to the user, and the user receives input of data to be read by selecting one (S510). For example, the data to be read may be information such as a file name to be read. And. Check the storage area where the read data is stored (S520). If the data to be read is stored in the security area, authentication is performed (S530). If the authentication is successful, the data stored in the security area is read (S540). . On the other hand, if the data to be read is data stored in the general area, the data is read from the general area (S550). It is determined whether the data stored in the read security area or the general area is encrypted data (S560), and if it is encrypted data, decryption is performed (S570). On the other hand, in performing the authentication in step S530, if the authentication fails more than a certain number of times, for example three or more times, it can be locked so that no more data can be read.

On the other hand, the above-described data storage method can be created by a computer program. Codes and code segments constituting the program can be easily inferred by a computer programmer in the art. In addition, the program is stored in a computer readable media, and read and executed by a computer to implement a data storage method. The information storage medium includes a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, and a carrier wave medium.

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, the USB secure data storage device further includes a memory card interface to read or transfer data from various types of external memory cards.

Claims (7)

A USB hub having a plurality of input / output ports, for receiving data according to a USB signal standard from one port and outputting the data to another port; An interface conversion unit which receives data output from any one port of the USB hub and converts the data into memory card interface data; A socket connected to the interface converter and into which an external memory card is inserted; And Receiving the data output from any one port of the USB hub to encrypt and store, or transfer the encrypted data to the interface conversion unit, characterized in that it comprises a security chip that is accessed through a predetermined authentication process Secure data storage device. The method of claim 1, A controller for generating an address used to store data from one of the output ports to a flash memory, and transferring the data to the flash memory accordingly; And And at least one flash memory for storing the received data. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the interface conversion unit Converts the USB interface signal according to the SD card, MMC card or Compact Flash (CF) card signal specifications, the socket is a USB security data, characterized in that the socket into which the SD card, MMC card or compact flash card can be inserted Storage device. The method of claim 2, wherein the security chip And encrypting the received data in a memory included in the security chip, or encrypting the received data and transferring the received data to the flash memory or the interface converter. The method of claim 1, wherein the security chip A USB interface unit for inputting and outputting data from any one of the output ports; A security chip controller for controlling the transfer of the received data; An encryption processing unit for encrypting the received data according to a predetermined encryption algorithm; And And a secure data storage unit for storing the received data as it is or storing data encrypted by the encryption processing unit. (a) outputting data input according to the USB signal standard according to the USB signal standard through one of the output ports of the plurality of output ports according to the location to be stored; And (b) encrypts and transfers data from any one of the output ports through a socket into which an external memory card that converts data in accordance with the memory card interface is inserted, or transfers data from one of the output ports to a USB interface. Receiving and storing in accordance with the encryption, but storing in a secure chip that is accessed through a predetermined authentication process. The method of claim 6, In step (b), the signal from one of the output ports is converted according to the SD card, MMC card, or compact flash (CF) card signal standard, and the socket is connected to the SD card, MMC card or compact flash ( CF) USB security data storage method, characterized in that the socket can be inserted card.

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