LINKING PUBLIC KEY OF DEVICE TO INFORMATION DURING MANUFACTURE

摘要

A method in which information pertaining to a device (104) generating digital signatures (122) is reliably identified includes manufacturing (102) devices in a secure environment (114) and for each device (104) before it is released from the secure environment: creating a public-private key pair (116, 118); storing the private key (116) within the device (104) for utilization in generating a digital signature (122) for a message (122); and linking the public key (118) to a Security Profile (120) of the device (104). The devices (104) then are released from the secure environment (114) and a digital signature (122) is received from somewhere (108) in the world (106). The message (122) is authenticated using a suspect public key (124) and the suspect public key (124) is compared with the linked public keys (118). A Security Profile (120) of the genuine device (104) to which belongs the private key (116) used in generating the digital signature (122) is identified when the public key (124) matches a linked public key (118). A risk that the message (122) is fraudulently signed is determined.