Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
1. The following is a non-Final Office Action in response to applicant’s arguments/filing filed on June 23, 2025
Claims 1-20 are pending
Drawings
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s drawings submitted on 6/23/2025.
Oath/Declaration
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s oath submitted on 6/23/2025
Application Data Sheet
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s application data sheet submitted on 6/23/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
1..) Claims 1-3, 6-10, 13-17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20150113266, Wooten in view of US 20220405392, Nix
In regards to claim 1, Wooten teaches a computing device comprising:a hardware processor(US 20150113266, Wooten, fig. 2, item 208, crypto-processor);a memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the hardware processor(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0032, The crypto-processor 106, for example, retrieves encrypted database records from the hard disk, decrypts these records in secure memory, performs secure computations on these records, and returns encrypted computation results and/or modified encrypted database records.) to:during a boot process after receiving updated firmware and prior to executing the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0037, Hence, when the firmware 114 is updated, the trusted application secret changes because the associated firmware measurement changed. When the certification component 108 boots up the crypto-processor 106, the crypto-processor 106 computes an updated copy of the trusted application secret data 112 and deletes the shared secret data 110.):access a stored value in a protected storage device, wherein the stored value comprises a measurement of the updated firmware taken by the computing device after a firmware update(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0039, the certifying entity uses the public identity value and the firmware version number to access a secure data store and retrieve the shared secret associated with the crypto-processor 106 and firmware measurements associated with the firmware version number.);generate a measurement of the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0048, the certificate authorization value is configured to change in a predictable manner when the firmware in the crypto-processor changes resulting in a different firmware measurement.);compare the generated measurement with the stored value(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0039 -0040: [0039]- the certifying entity uses the public identity value and the firmware version number to access a secure data store and retrieve the shared secret associated with the crypto-processor 106 and firmware measurements associated with the firmware version number. After computing a copy of a trusted application secret, the certifying entity computes a session secret and/or an HMAC value verifying the session secret.[0040]- If the certifying entity 104 uses a correct shared secret to compute a copy of the session secret, the certifying entity 104 may verify that the crypto-processor 106 generated the cryptographic key after changing the cryptographic key generator by comparing an HMAC value with another HMAC value computed from the crypto-processor's copy of the session secret.[i.e. note: the firmware measurement used in the HMAC may be compared to another HMAC value]);in response to determining the generated measurement does not match the stored value, maintain a device certificate unchanged(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0040, If the HMAC values do not match, the crypto-processor instructs the operating system not to return any information to the certifying entity[i.e. note: things remain unchanged].);wherein the certificate is generated using a device secret and the generated measurement(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0006 and 0047: [0006]- the crypto-processor uses the trusted application secret to negotiate with the certifying entity over the issuance of certificates proving validity of the new cryptographic data. In one aspect, the trusted application secret is computed from shared secret data for verifying the crypto-processor's firmware and/or hardware.[0047]- The crypto-processor may use a deterministic function (e.g. a one-way hash function) to compute an appropriate certification authorization value. The following function represents one example implementation for computing an example value for the certificate authorization value:
Hash(Certification Seed.parallel.Firmware Measurement).[i.e. note: the certificate makes use of a shared secret and measurement for the performance of certifying]); and Wooten does not teach in response to determining the generated measurement matches the stored value, generate a new device key pair and certificate for device authentication However, Nix teaches in response to determining the generated measurement matches the stored value, generate a new device key pair and certificate for device authentication (US 20220405392, Nix, para. 0022, After a successful verification of the digital signature by the updated first boot firmware, the processor can operate the updated second boot firmware. The updated second boot firmware can include support for cryptographic algorithms and certificates[e.g. generated certificates] used by subsequent boot firmware…By using the steps above, the computing device can securely and efficiently update a boot loader to support a new public key[e.g. note: newly generated public key of a public/private key pair] and new cryptographic algorithms.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Wooten with the teaching of Nix because a user would have been motivated to establish a secure session, taught by Nix, in order to facilitate securely obtaining an firmware update in the system taught by Wooten(Nix, para. 0012).
In regards to claim 2, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the computing device of claim 1, wherein the protected storage device is accessible only by a process executing within a trusted execution environment(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0032, The crypto-processor 106 may include one or more components that form at least a portion of a trusted computing architecture comprising different execution environments. An execution environment for the crypto-processor 106 may be isolated from another execution environment of an operating system (OS) running within the computing device. In the other execution environment, the computing device may store encrypted data within a hard disk and use the crypto-processor 106 to execute secure computations on such data. The crypto-processor 106, for example, retrieves encrypted database records from the hard disk, decrypts these records in secure memory, performs secure computations on these records).
In regards to claim 3, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the computing device of claim 1, wherein generating the measurement of the updated firmware comprises calculating a cryptographic hash of the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0047, The following function represents one example implementation for computing an example value for the certificate authorization value:
Hash(Certification Seed.parallel.Firmware Measurement)).
In regards to claim 6, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the computing device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to as part of a firmware update process: receive the updated firmware, write the updated firmware to a firmware memory location(US 20220405392, Nix, para. 0021, The device and processor can write the received updated second boot firmware with the digital signature to a second nonvolatile memory,), generate the measurement of the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0037, when the firmware 114 is updated, the trusted application secret changes because the associated firmware measurement changed[i.e. note: generated].), write the measurement to the protected storage device(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0018, The crypto-processor's manufacturer generally maintains a controlled environment where values of the shared secret data are stored in a secure data repository.), and reset the computing device(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0069, When new firmware is installed on the crypto-processor, the crypto-processor is rebooted[i.e. note: resetting] and the certification component produces the shared secret, the public identity (ID) value, and/or other keys/seeds.). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Wooten with the teaching of Nix because a user would have been motivated to establish a secure session, taught by Nix, in order to facilitate securely obtaining an firmware update in the system taught by Wooten(Nix, para. 0012)
In regards to claim 7, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the computing device of claim 1, wherein responsive to determining the generated measurement does not match the stored value, the processor performs an authenticity failure operation comprising one or more of: halting operations, generating an error message, sending an error notification to a management device, or providing a visual or auditory indication of the failure(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0068, If the certifying entity and the crypto-processor have different values of the shared secret, the values of the session secret also are different. As a result, the crypto-processor does not return a response to the certifying entity indicating that the command sequence completed successfully, or alternatively, returns a response indicating that the command sequence failed.).
In regards to claim 8, Wooten teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium, storing instructions for verifying firmware integrity and generating device authentication credentials, the instructions, which when executed, cause a computing device to perform operations(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0032, The crypto-processor 106, for example, retrieves encrypted database records from the hard disk, decrypts these records in secure memory, performs secure computations on these records, and returns encrypted computation results and/or modified encrypted database records.) comprising: during a boot process after receiving updated firmware and prior to executing the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0037, Hence, when the firmware 114 is updated, the trusted application secret changes because the associated firmware measurement changed. When the certification component 108 boots up the crypto-processor 106, the crypto-processor 106 computes an updated copy of the trusted application secret data 112 and deletes the shared secret data 110.): accessing a stored value in a protected storage device, wherein the stored value comprises a measurement of the updated firmware taken by the computing device after a firmware update(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0039, the certifying entity uses the public identity value and the firmware version number to access a secure data store and retrieve the shared secret associated with the crypto-processor 106 and firmware measurements associated with the firmware version number.); generating a measurement of the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0048, the certificate authorization value is configured to change in a predictable manner when the firmware in the crypto-processor changes resulting in a different firmware measurement.); comparing the generated measurement with the stored value(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0039 -0040: [0039]- the certifying entity uses the public identity value and the firmware version number to access a secure data store and retrieve the shared secret associated with the crypto-processor 106 and firmware measurements associated with the firmware version number. After computing a copy of a trusted application secret, the certifying entity computes a session secret and/or an HMAC value verifying the session secret.[0040]- If the certifying entity 104 uses a correct shared secret to compute a copy of the session secret, the certifying entity 104 may verify that the crypto-processor 106 generated the cryptographic key after changing the cryptographic key generator by comparing an HMAC value with another HMAC value computed from the crypto-processor's copy of the session secret.[i.e. note: the firmware measurement used in the HMAC may be compared to another HMAC value]); in response to determining the generated measurement does not match the stored value, maintaining a device certificate unchanged(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0040, If the HMAC values do not match, the crypto-processor instructs the operating system not to return any information to the certifying entity[i.e. note: things remain unchanged].);wherein the certificate is generated using a device secret and the generated measurement(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0006 and 0047: [0006]- the crypto-processor uses the trusted application secret to negotiate with the certifying entity over the issuance of certificates proving validity of the new cryptographic data. In one aspect, the trusted application secret is computed from shared secret data for verifying the crypto-processor's firmware and/or hardware.[0047]- The crypto-processor may use a deterministic function (e.g. a one-way hash function) to compute an appropriate certification authorization value. The following function represents one example implementation for computing an example value for the certificate authorization value:
Hash(Certification Seed.parallel.Firmware Measurement).[i.e. note: the certificate makes use of a shared secret and measurement for the performance of certifying]); and Wooten does not teach in response to determining the generated measurement matches the stored value, generating a new device key pair and certificate for device authentication However, Nix teaches in response to determining the generated measurement matches the stored value, generating a new device key pair and certificate for device authentication (US 20220405392, Nix, para. 0022, After a successful verification of the digital signature by the updated first boot firmware, the processor can operate the updated second boot firmware. The updated second boot firmware can include support for cryptographic algorithms and certificates[e.g. generated certificates] used by subsequent boot firmware…By using the steps above, the computing device can securely and efficiently update a boot loader to support a new public key[e.g. note: newly generated public key of a public/private key pair] and new cryptographic algorithms.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Wooten with the teaching of Nix because a user would have been motivated to establish a secure session, taught by Nix, in order to facilitate securely obtaining an firmware update in the system taught by Wooten(Nix, para. 0012).
In regards to claim 9, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the protected storage device is accessible only by a process executing within a trusted execution environment(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0032, The crypto-processor 106 may include one or more components that form at least a portion of a trusted computing architecture comprising different execution environments. An execution environment for the crypto-processor 106 may be isolated from another execution environment of an operating system (OS) running within the computing device. In the other execution environment, the computing device may store encrypted data within a hard disk and use the crypto-processor 106 to execute secure computations on such data. The crypto-processor 106, for example, retrieves encrypted database records from the hard disk, decrypts these records in secure memory, performs secure computations on these records).
In regards to claim 10, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the operation of generating the measurement of the updated firmware further comprises calculating a cryptographic hash of the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0047, The following function represents one example implementation for computing an example value for the certificate authorization value:
Hash(Certification Seed.parallel.Firmware Measurement)).
In regards to claim 13, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: as part of a firmware update process: receiving the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0021, After the crypto-processor's firmware is updated, the certifying entity and the crypto-processor may negotiate certification by engaging in a session using the changed session secret derived from the modified trusted application secret data.); writing the updated firmware to a firmware memory location(US 20220405392, Nix, para. 0021, The device and processor can write the received updated second boot firmware with the digital signature to a second nonvolatile memory,); generating the measurement of the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0037, when the firmware 114 is updated, the trusted application secret changes because the associated firmware measurement changed[i.e. note: generated].); writing the measurement to the protected storage device(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0018, The crypto-processor's manufacturer generally maintains a controlled environment where values of the shared secret data are stored in a secure data repository.); and resetting the computing device(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0069, When new firmware is installed on the crypto-processor, the crypto-processor is rebooted[i.e. note: resetting] and the certification component produces the shared secret, the public identity (ID) value, and/or other keys/seeds.). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Wooten with the teaching of Nix because a user would have been motivated to establish a secure session, taught by Nix, in order to facilitate securely obtaining an firmware update in the system taught by Wooten(Nix, para. 0012)
In regards to claim 14, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: responsive to determining the generated measurement does not match the stored value, performing an authenticity failure operation comprising one or more of: halting operations, generating an error message, sending an error notification to a management device, or providing a visual or auditory indication of the failure(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0068, If the certifying entity and the crypto-processor have different values of the shared secret, the values of the session secret also are different. As a result, the crypto-processor does not return a response to the certifying entity indicating that the command sequence completed successfully, or alternatively, returns a response indicating that the command sequence failed.).
In regards to claim 15, Wooten teaches a method for verifying firmware integrity and generating device authentication credentials, the method comprising: using one or more computer processors: during a boot process after receiving updated firmware and prior to executing the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0037, Hence, when the firmware 114 is updated, the trusted application secret changes because the associated firmware measurement changed. When the certification component 108 boots up the crypto-processor 106, the crypto-processor 106 computes an updated copy of the trusted application secret data 112 and deletes the shared secret data 110.): accessing a stored value in a protected storage device, wherein the stored value comprises a measurement of the updated firmware taken by the computing device after a firmware update(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0039, the certifying entity uses the public identity value and the firmware version number to access a secure data store and retrieve the shared secret associated with the crypto-processor 106 and firmware measurements associated with the firmware version number.); generating a measurement of the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0048, the certificate authorization value is configured to change in a predictable manner when the firmware in the crypto-processor changes resulting in a different firmware measurement.); comparing the generated measurement with the stored value(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0039 -0040: [0039]- the certifying entity uses the public identity value and the firmware version number to access a secure data store and retrieve the shared secret associated with the crypto-processor 106 and firmware measurements associated with the firmware version number. After computing a copy of a trusted application secret, the certifying entity computes a session secret and/or an HMAC value verifying the session secret.[0040]- If the certifying entity 104 uses a correct shared secret to compute a copy of the session secret, the certifying entity 104 may verify that the crypto-processor 106 generated the cryptographic key after changing the cryptographic key generator by comparing an HMAC value with another HMAC value computed from the crypto-processor's copy of the session secret.[i.e. note: the firmware measurement used in the HMAC may be compared to another HMAC value]); in response to determining the generated measurement does not match the stored value, maintaining a device certificate unchanged(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0040, If the HMAC values do not match, the crypto-processor instructs the operating system not to return any information to the certifying entity[i.e. note: things remain unchanged].);wherein the certificate is generated using a device secret and the generated measurement(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0006 and 0047: [0006]- the crypto-processor uses the trusted application secret to negotiate with the certifying entity over the issuance of certificates proving validity of the new cryptographic data. In one aspect, the trusted application secret is computed from shared secret data for verifying the crypto-processor's firmware and/or hardware.[0047]- The crypto-processor may use a deterministic function (e.g. a one-way hash function) to compute an appropriate certification authorization value. The following function represents one example implementation for computing an example value for the certificate authorization value:
Hash(Certification Seed.parallel.Firmware Measurement).[i.e. note: the certificate makes use of a shared secret and measurement for the performance of certifying]); and during a second boot process after receiving a second updated firmware and prior to executing the second updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0037, Hence, when the firmware 114 is updated, the trusted application secret changes because the associated firmware measurement changed. When the certification component 108 boots up[e.g. note: 2nd bootup] the crypto-processor 106, the crypto-processor 106 computes an updated copy of the trusted application secret data 112 and deletes the shared secret data 110.): accessing a second stored value in the protected storage device, wherein the second stored value comprises a measurement of the second updated firmware taken by the computing device after a second firmware update(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0039, the certifying entity uses the public identity value[e.g. note: 2nd value] and the firmware version number[e.g. note: 2nd version value] to access a secure data store and retrieve the shared secret associated with the crypto-processor 106 and firmware measurements associated with the firmware version number.); generating a measurement of the second updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0048, the certificate authorization value is configured to change in a predictable manner when the firmware in the crypto-processor changes resulting in a different firmware measurement[e.g. note: 2nd measurement].); comparing the generated measurement with the second stored value(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0039 -0040: [0039]- the certifying entity uses the public identity value and the firmware version number to access a secure data store and retrieve the shared secret associated with the crypto-processor 106 and firmware measurements associated with the firmware version number. After computing a copy of a trusted application secret, the certifying entity computes a session secret and/or an HMAC value verifying the session secret.[0040]- If the certifying entity 104 uses a correct shared secret to compute a copy of the session secret, the certifying entity 104 may verify that the crypto-processor 106 generated the cryptographic key after changing the cryptographic key generator by comparing an HMAC value with another HMAC value computed from the crypto-processor's copy of the session secret.[i.e. note: the firmware measurement used in the HMAC may be compared to another HMAC value]); and Wooten does not teach in response to determining the generated measurement matches the second stored value, generating a new device key pair and certificate for device authentication However, Nix teaches in response to determining the generated measurement matches the second stored value, generating a new device key pair and certificate for device authentication (US 20220405392, Nix, para. 0022, After a successful verification of the digital signature by the updated first boot firmware, the processor can operate the updated second boot firmware. The updated second boot firmware can include support for cryptographic algorithms and certificates[e.g. generated certificates] used by subsequent boot firmware…By using the steps above, the computing device can securely and efficiently update a boot loader to support a new public key[e.g. note: newly generated public key of a public/private key pair] and new cryptographic algorithms.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Wooten with the teaching of Nix because a user would have been motivated to establish a secure session, taught by Nix, in order to facilitate securely obtaining a firmware update in the system taught by Wooten(Nix, para. 0012).
In regards to claim 16, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the method of claim 15, wherein the protected storage device is accessible only by a process executing within a trusted execution environment(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0032, The crypto-processor 106 may include one or more components that form at least a portion of a trusted computing architecture comprising different execution environments. An execution environment for the crypto-processor 106 may be isolated from another execution environment of an operating system (OS) running within the computing device. In the other execution environment, the computing device may store encrypted data within a hard disk and use the crypto-processor 106 to execute secure computations on such data. The crypto-processor 106, for example, retrieves encrypted database records from the hard disk, decrypts these records in secure memory, performs secure computations on these records).
In regards to claim 17, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the method of claim 15, wherein generating the measurement of the updated firmware comprises calculating a cryptographic hash of the updated firmware(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0047, The following function represents one example implementation for computing an example value for the certificate authorization value:
Hash(Certification Seed.parallel.Firmware Measurement)).
In regards to claim 19, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the method of claim 15, wherein responsive to determining the generated measurement does not match the stored value, the method further comprises: performing an authenticity failure operation comprising one or more of: halting operations, generating an error message, sending an error notification to a management device, or providing a visual or auditory indication of the failure(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0068, If the certifying entity and the crypto-processor have different values of the shared secret, the values of the session secret also are different. As a result, the crypto-processor does not return a response to the certifying entity indicating that the command sequence completed successfully, or alternatively, returns a response indicating that the command sequence failed.).
2.) Claims 4, 11, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20150113266, Wooten in view of US 20220405392, Nix and further in view of US 20090164800, Johansson
In regards to claim 4, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the computing device of claim 1. The combination of Wooten and Nix do not teach wherein the protected storage device comprises one or more of: a secure register, fuses, e-fuses, anti-fuses, or replay-protected memory blocks (RPMB) However, Johansson teaches wherein the protected storage device comprises one or more of: a secure register, fuses, e-fuses, anti-fuses, or replay-protected memory blocks (RPMB) (US 20090164800, Johansson, para. 0029, Electronic device 100 comprises an ASIC 110, which includes a control processor 120, a cryptographic processor 130, and a secure memory 140, which includes a secret key 150. ASIC 110 also includes an e-fuse 160,). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Wooten and Nix with the teaching of Johansson because a user would have been motivated to use an e-fuse, taught by Johansson, to disable a predetermined functionality that may protect a hardware component from tampering in the system taught by the combination of Wooten and Nix(Johansson, para. 0029 and 0034)
In regards to claim 11, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8. The combination of Wooten and Nix do not teach wherein the protected storage device comprises one or more of: a secure register, fuses, e-fuses, anti-fuses, or replay-protected memory blocks (RPMB) ) However, Johansson teaches wherein the protected storage device comprises one or more of: a secure register, fuses, e-fuses, anti-fuses, or replay-protected memory blocks (RPMB) )(US 20090164800, Johansson, para. 0029, Electronic device 100 comprises an ASIC 110, which includes a control processor 120, a cryptographic processor 130, and a secure memory 140, which includes a secret key 150. ASIC 110 also includes an e-fuse 160,). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Wooten and Nix with the teaching of Johansson because a user would have been motivated to use an e-fuse, taught by Johansson, to disable a predetermined functionality that may protect a hardware component from tampering in the system taught by the combination of Wooten and Nix(Johansson, para. 0029 and 0034)
In regards to claim 18, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the method of claim 15. The combination of Wooten and Nix do not teach wherein the protected storage device comprises one or more of:a secure register, fuses, e-fuses, anti-fuses, or replay-protected memory blocks (RPMB) ) However, Johansson teaches wherein the protected storage device comprises one or more of:a secure register, fuses, e-fuses, anti-fuses, or replay-protected memory blocks (RPMB) ) (US 20090164800, Johansson, para. 0029, Electronic device 100 comprises an ASIC 110, which includes a control processor 120, a cryptographic processor 130, and a secure memory 140, which includes a secret key 150. ASIC 110 also includes an e-fuse 160,). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Wooten and Nix with the teaching of Johansson because a user would have been motivated to use an e-fuse, taught by Johansson, to disable a predetermined functionality that may protect a hardware component from tampering in the system taught by the combination of Wooten and Nix(Johansson, para. 0029 and 0034)
3.) Claims 5, 12 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20150113266, Wooten in view of US 20220405392, Nix and further in view of Microsoft DICE: Device Identifier Composition Engine (1/1/2015)
In regards to claim 5, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the computing device of claim 1, wherein clearing the stored value from the protected storage device(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0019, In order to secure the shared secret from exposure, an example embodiment of the crypto-processor generates trusted application secret data from the shared secret, and disables access to or securely deletes the shared secret.); The combination of Wooten and Nix do not teach wherein generating the new device key pair and certificate comprises regenerating the certificate according to a Device Identifier Composition Engine (DICE) specification However, Microsoft teaches wherein generating the new device key pair and certificate comprises regenerating the certificate according to a Device Identifier Composition Engine (DICE) specification (Micrsoft, pg. 5, section Microsoft DICE Core Reference Implementation, where certificate for Alias key is created using DeviceID private key). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Wooten and Nix with the teaching of DICE because a user would have been motivated to apply DICE techniques, taught by Microsoft, to efficiently provide security to a device’s unique device secret, taught by the combination of Wooten and Nix, in order to drastically reducing the amount of code that has access to the device secret(Microsoft, Section: DICE in a Nutshell).
In regards to claim 12, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: clearing the stored value from the protected storage device(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0019, In order to secure the shared secret from exposure, an example embodiment of the crypto-processor generates trusted application secret data from the shared secret, and disables access to or securely deletes the shared secret.); and The combination of Wooten and Nix do not teach regenerating the certificate according to a Device Identifier Composition Engine (DICE) specification However, Microsoft teaches regenerating the certificate according to a Device Identifier Composition Engine (DICE) specification (Micrsoft, pg. 5, section Microsoft DICE Core Reference Implementation, where certificate for Alias key is created using DeviceID private key). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Wooten and Nix with the teaching of DICE because a user would have been motivated to apply DICE techniques, taught by Microsoft, to efficiently provide security to a device’s unique device secret, taught by the combination of Wooten and Nix, in order to drastically reducing the amount of code that has access to the device secret(Microsoft, Section: DICE in a Nutshell).
In regards to claim 20, the combination of Wooten and Nix teach the method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises: clearing the second stored value from the protected storage device(US 20150113266, Wooten, para. 0019, In order to secure the shared secret from exposure, an example embodiment of the crypto-processor generates trusted application secret data from the shared secret, and disables access to or securely deletes the shared secret.); and The combination of Wooten and Nix do not teach regenerating the certificate according to a Device Identifier Composition Engine (DICE) specification However, Microsoft teaches regenerating the certificate according to a Device Identifier Composition Engine (DICE) specification(Micrsoft, pg. 5, section Microsoft DICE Core Reference Implementation, where certificate for Alias key is created using DeviceID private key). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Wooten and Nix with the teaching of DICE because a user would have been motivated to apply DICE techniques, taught by Microsoft, to efficiently provide security to a device’s unique device secret, taught by the combination of Wooten and Nix, in order to drastically reducing the amount of code that has access to the device secret(Microsoft, Section: DICE in a Nutshell).
CONCLUSION
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY LANE whose telephone number is (571)270-7469. The examiner can normally be reached on 571 270 7469 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Taghi Arani, can be reached on 571 272 3787. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/GREGORY A LANE/Examiner, Art Unit 2438
/TAGHI T ARANI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2438
Prosecution Insights