Access control by encrypting stored data with a key based on a fingerprint of the device storing the data

摘要

The invention provides a method for controlling access to data stored in a digital format on a device. The method comprises securely storing the data on the device by encrypting the data using a device key. The stored data is only accessible by using the device key to decrypt the encrypted data thereby controlling access to the data. The device key is based at least in part on a device "fingerprint" for the device on which the data is stored. The fingerprint may be based on e.g. hardware identifiers or serial numbers storage capacity etc. The data may further be double-encrypted with a user key. If any of the components in the device are changed, the fingerprint may be re-calculated. This may be carried out if the number of replaced components falls below a threshold value, with a user password being required for re-calculation to be done otherwise.