Method for accessing a portable data storage medium with auxiliary module and portable data storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9104895-B2
Application number	US-201013318969-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 5, 2010
Priority date	May 5, 2009
Publication date	Aug 11, 2015
Grant date	Aug 11, 2015

Abstract

The invention describes a method for accessing a portable storage data carrier ( 10 ) having a controller ( 12 ) for managing a standardized storage element ( 14 ) and having an additional module ( 16 ), wherein a data block is transferred to the storage data carrier ( 10 ) in a first transmission protocol. The data block comprises routing information and application data, whereby the routing information contains an identifier which can be detected by the controller ( 12 ). Furthermore, it is determined whether a data block received on the storage data carrier ( 10 ) contains routing information. The data block is relayed to a storage area ( 18 ) of the storage element ( 14 ), said storage area being hidden to a terminal ( 50 ), when the data block comprises routing information and the routing information comprises, besides the identifier contained therein, at least one further, predetermined parameter indicating the access to the hidden storage area ( 18 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for accessing a portable storage data carrier having a controller for managing a standardized storage element which is accessible to a terminal, and having an additional module, wherein the standardized storage element and the additional module are connected to the controller via different communication links, the method comprising the steps:
transferring in a first transmission protocol a data block to the storage data carrier, wherein the data block comprises routing information and application data, wherein the routing information contains an identifier which is detectable by the controller,
determining whether a data block received on the storage data carrier contains routing information, wherein the controller relays application data to the additional module, when it has detected the routing information containing the identifier in the data block, and to the standardized storage element, when it has not detected the routing information,
forming in the standardized storage element a storage area which is hidden to a terminal and about which the controller transfers no information to the terminal, and
relaying the data block from the controller directly to the hidden storage area without delay when the data block comprises routing information and the routing information comprises, besides the identifier contained therein, at least one further, predetermined parameter indicating an access to the hidden storage area,
wherein there is executed on the terminal a privileged application which alone can access the hidden storage area, and
wherein the routing information is supplemented, for indicating a command in a second transmission protocol, by a second, predetermined parameter.

2. The method according to claim 1 , including effecting an access of the privileged application to the hidden storage area without administrative rights for the portable storage data carrier.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the storage element of the portable storage data carrier has an actual total size, comprising transferring as the total size from the portable storage data carrier to the terminal a value representing the size of the storage element that results from the difference between the actual total size and the size of the hidden storage area.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the terminal is provided with a programming interface which, upon a request of the privileged application to the hidden storage area, converts the request to a data block and adds the further, predetermined parameter to the routing information.

5. The method according to claim 1 , including transferring, upon an access to the hidden storage area to the terminal, a file directory of the hidden storage area.

6. The method according to claim 1 , including storing the data stored in the hidden storage area in encrypted form.

7. The method according to claim 1 , including coordinating the first transmission protocol with the storage element.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein commands that cannot be transferred to the storage element in a second transmission protocol of the storage element are transferred to the portable storage data carrier in a data block in the first transmission protocol with the routing information.

9. A portable storage data carrier comprising:
a controller managing a standardized storage element which is accessible to a terminal, and having an additional module, wherein the standardized storage element and the additional module are connected to the controller via different communication links, said data carrier being configured:
to receive a data block from a terminal in a first transmission protocol, wherein the data block comprises routing information and application data, and wherein the routing information contains an identifier which is detectable by the controller, and
to determine whether a data block received on the storage data carrier contains routing information, wherein the controller relays application data to the additional module, when it has detected the routing information containing the identifier in the data block, and
to the standardized storage element, when it has not detected the routing information, wherein in the standardized storage element there is formed a storage area which is hidden to a terminal and about which the controller transfers no information to the terminal, and
wherein the storage data carrier is further configured to relay the data block from the controller directly to the hidden storage area without delay when the data block comprises routing information and the routing information comprises, besides the identifier contained therein, at least one further, predetermined parameter indicating an access to the hidden storage area, and
wherein the routing information is supplemented, for indicating a command in a second transmission protocol, by a second, predetermined parameter.

10. A terminal which is configured for access via a standard interface to a portable storage data carrier as recited in claim 9 , wherein the terminal is arranged to generate, for application data intended for the additional module, routing information having a further parameter indicating predetermined access to the hidden storage area.

11. A system comprising a portable storage data carrier as recited in claim 9 and a terminal, the terminal being configured to access via a standard interface to the portable storage data carrier, wherein the terminal is arranged to generate, for application data intended for the additional module, routing information having a further parameter indicating predetermined access to the hidden storage area.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program product for access to a storage data carrier having an additional module, which is loadable directly into a storage system of a terminal, said computer program product comprising software code portions with which the method steps recited in claim 1 are executed when the computer program product is executed on a processor of the terminal.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the standardized storage element is connected to the controller via a first communication link and the additional module is connected to the controller via a second communication link,
the controller is configured to relay application data to the additional module via the second communication link when it has detected the routing information containing the identifier in the data block and to the standardized storage element via the first communication link when it has not detected the routing information, and
the data block is relayed directly to the hidden storage area via the first communication link.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
a data block that otherwise would be relayed to the additional module due to the determination that the data block includes routing information that includes the identifier is relayed instead directly to the hidden storage area due to the determination that the routing information further includes a predetermined parameter.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
relaying the data block from the controller directly to the hidden storage area includes writing at least a portion of the data block in the hidden storage area.

16. The method according to claim 9 , wherein
the standardized storage element is connected to the controller via a first communication link and the additional module is connected to the controller via a second communication link,
the controller is configured to relay appl

Assignees

• Martini Ullrich
• Giesecke & Devrient Gmbh

Inventors

• Martini Ullrich

Classifications

• G06F21/78

  to assure secure storage of data (address-based protection against unauthorised use of memory G06F12/14; record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00) · CPC title

• G06F21/79 Primary

  in semiconductor storage media, e.g. directly-addressable memories · CPC title