Systems and methods for verifying the authenticity of an application during execution

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016019383-A1
Application number	US-201414333198-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 16, 2014
Priority date	Jul 16, 2014
Publication date	Jan 21, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

In an embodiment, a system includes an electronic device having memory circuitry configured to store an application comprising a plurality of instructions. The system also includes processing circuitry configured to execute the application and an application authenticity check routine, wherein the application authenticity check routine includes instructions executable by the processing circuitry to use idle processing time to verify an authenticity of the application throughout execution of the application.

First claim

1 . A system, comprising:
an electronic device, comprising:
memory circuitry configured to store an application comprising a plurality of instructions; and
processing circuitry configured to execute the application and an application authenticity check routine, wherein the application authenticity check routine includes instructions executable by the processing circuitry to use idle processing time to verify an authenticity of the application throughout execution of the application.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the application authenticity check routine comprises instructions executable by the processing circuitry to determine that the application is authentic when a calculated digest value for the application matches a digest value stored in the application.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the application authenticity check routine comprises instructions executable by the processing circuitry to alter the application to render the application non-executable by the processing circuitry and to restart the electronic device when the processing circuitry determines that the calculated digest value for the application does not match the digest value stored in the application.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry comprises a high-security module (HSM), and wherein the HSM is configured to execute the application authenticity check routine to verify the authenticity of the application being executed by other portions of the processing circuitry.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry includes a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) that is configured to store and execute the application authenticity check routine to verify the authenticity of the application being executed by other portions of the processing circuitry.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the application authenticity check routine is configured to make an energy consumption and an electromagnetic (EM) noise level of the electronic device substantially uniform throughout execution of the application.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the application authenticity check routine is stored in the memory circuitry.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device comprises a relay of an industrial monitoring and/or control system, and wherein the industrial monitoring and/or control system comprises a power grid system, a protection and control system, an industrial plant, a power distribution system, or any combination thereof.

9 . A method, comprising:
instructing processing circuitry of an electronic device to initiate execution of an application stored in a memory of the electronic device; and executing the application while executing an authenticity check routine using the processing circuitry of the electronic device, wherein the authenticity check routine comprises a plurality of instructions configured to cause the processing circuitry to determine whether the application has been modified subsequent to packaging.

10 . The method of claim 9 , comprising modifying the application in the memory of the electronic device to render the application non-executable when the processing circuitry determines that the application has been modified subsequent to packaging.

11 . The method of claim 10 , comprising restarting the electronic device after modifying the application when the processing circuitry determines that the application has been modified subsequent to packaging.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the electronic device comprises a relay of an industrial monitoring and/or control system.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein executing the authenticity check routine comprises executing the authenticity check routine using available processing cycles of the processing circuitry of the electronic device while the processing circuitry is executing the application.

14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein executing the authenticity check routine comprises executing the authenticity check routine sporadically at intervals between approximately 300 milliseconds and approximately 1 month.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein executing the authenticity check routine comprises not allowing the processing circuitry of the electronic device to become idle or to be throttled while executing the application.

16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein executing the authenticity check routine comprises causing the electronic device to emit a substantially uniform amount of electromagnetic noise throughout execution of the application.

17 . A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by at least one processor of an electronic device, the instructions comprising:
instructions to execute an application stored in at least one memory of the electronic device; instructions to intermittently execute an authenticity check routine while executing the application, wherein the authenticity check routine comprises:
instructions to compute a digest value for the application stored in the at least one memory of the electronic device;
instructions to decrypt a portion of the application stored in the at least one memory of the electronic device to determine a stored digest value for the application; and
instructions to determine that the application is authentic whenever the at least one processor determines that the computed digest value is equal to the stored digest value.

18 . The medium of claim 17 , wherein the authenticity check routine comprises instructions to restart the electronic device whenever the computed digest value is not equal to the stored digest value.

19 . The medium of claim 17 , wherein intermittently executing the application authenticity check routine comprises executing the application authenticity check routine instead of allowing the at least one processor to sit idle or to be throttled, enabling the at least one processor to consume a substantially constant amount of power, enabling the at least one processor to emit a substantially constant amount of electromagnetic radiation, or a combination thereof, while executing the application.

20 . The medium of claim 17 , wherein the at least one processor comprises a high-security module (HSM) or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to execute the authenticity check routine and another processor configured to execute the application.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Hanley James Patrick

Classifications

• G06F21/62

  Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules · CPC title

• G06F2221/033

  Test or assess software · CPC title

• G06F21/52 Primary

  during program execution, e.g. stack integrity {; Preventing unwanted data erasure; Buffer overflow} · CPC title

• H04W12/128

  Anti-malware arrangements, e.g. protection against SMS fraud or mobile malware · CPC title

• Y04S40/20

  Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security · CPC title