Storage identity validation for a supply chain

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12547715-B2
Application number	US-202217659938-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 20, 2022
Priority date	Apr 20, 2022
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

Systems and methods for validating digital components comprise manufacturing a digital component for a computer network, wherein the digital component includes embedded software, creating a unique digital identity for the digital component using parameters of the embedded software, and storing the unique digital identity to a global repository. The method further comprises shipping the digital component to an end user, receiving a query at the global repository to verify an installed digital identity associated with a component being installed in an end user network, and determining whether the installed digital identity matches the unique digital identity. The digital component may be a storage system. The computer network may be a data center or an information handling system (IHS).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method comprising:
manufacturing a plurality of Information Handling System (IHS) implementations for a computer network, wherein each IHS of the plurality of IHS implementations comprises a plurality of embedded devices, wherein each embedded device of the plurality of embedded devices in each IHS includes embedded software comprising firmware, and wherein each IHS of the plurality of IHS implementations comprise a kernel, and an operating system (OS); extracting, by at least one IHS of the plurality of IHS implementations, parameters of the at least one IHS, comprising: a hardware identifier unique to the at least one IHS, and parameters of: the firmware from the plurality of devices, the kernel, and the OS in the at least one IHS; sending, by the at least one IHS, an electronic message comprising the extracted parameters of the at least one IHS to a global repository remote from the at least one IHS, wherein the electronic message is configured to cause the global repository to calculate a unique installed digital identity of the at least one IHS based on the extracted parameters of the at least one IHS and a salting parameter added to the extracted parameters by the global repository; storing, by the global repository, the unique installed digital identity of the at least one IHS; shipping the at least one IHS to an end user; receiving a query at the global repository to verify an installed digital identity associated with the at least one IHS, wherein the query comprises current parameters of the at least one IHS, and wherein the global repository calculates a current digital identity of the at least one IHS based on the current parameters and the salting parameter; and determining, by the global repository, whether the unique installed digital identity matches the current digital identity, based on comparing the current digital identity with the unique installed digital identity.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one IHS further comprises a storage system.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the computer network further comprises a data center.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the computer network further comprises an intermediary cybersecurity system operably coupled between the at least one IHS and the global repository, and wherein the intermediary cybersecurity system is configured to host a global identity table (GDT), and wherein the method further comprises sending, by the at least one IHS to the intermediary cybersecurity system, the query.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the hardware identifier unique to the at least one IHS further comprises at least one of: a serial number, or a MAC address.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the unique installed digital identity and the current digital identity are created using a cryptographic hash function applied to the parameters of the at least one IHS and the salting parameter.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the unique installed digital identity is signed with a certificate from a manufacturer of the at least one IHS.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one IHS is under a manufacturer's control and is not shipped to the end user until the unique installed digital identity is stored to the global repository.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the global repository comprises a global digital identity table (GDT) comprising a plurality of unique installed digital identities calculated by the global repository as a function of parameters of a respective plurality of IHS implementations and a respective plurality of unique salting parameters.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the end user has a computer network comprising a data center.

11 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the method further comprises in response to the intermediary cybersecurity system determining the query does not comprise parameters from a rogue system, sending, by the intermediary cybersecurity system, the query to the global repository.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the query received at the global repository is sent from a data center in which the at least one IHS is being installed.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the query received at the global repository comprises a unique installed digital identity calculated by the at least one IHS.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the query received at the global repository comprises parameters of embedded software from a storage system being installed at a data center, and wherein the parameters of the embedded software are used to generate a unique installed digital identity for verification.

Assignees

• Dell Products Lp

Inventors

• Gehtman Yevgeni
• Shachar Tomer
• Balin Maxim

Classifications

• G06Q30/0185 Primary

  Product, service or business identity fraud · CPC title

• G06F21/577

  Assessing vulnerabilities and evaluating computer system security · CPC title

• G06F2221/033

  Test or assess software · CPC title

• G06F21/566 Primary

  Dynamic detection, i.e. detection performed at run-time, e.g. emulation, suspicious activities · CPC title