SECURING INFORMATION IN MEMORY OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE

摘要

A system and method for securing information in the memory of an electronic device. A terminal identifier that identifies the device is stored in memory in the device. Also stored in memory of the device is a cryptographic hash algorithm and a hash value that is calculated from the application of the hash algorithm against the terminal identifier. The terminal identifier, the hash algorithm, and the hash value are all stored in protected memory within the electronic device with the protected memory being read only memory or one time programmable memory. In response to the occurrence of an event on the electronic device, such as at time of device power-up, the hash algorithm is applied against the stored terminal identifier, with the resultant hash value being compared against the stored hash value. If the two hash values fail to match, normal operation of the device is disabled.