LINKING PUBLIC KEY OF DEVICE TO INFORMATION DURING MANUFACTURE

摘要

A method in which information pertaining to a device (104) generating digita l signatures (122) is reliably identified includes manufacturing (102) devices in a secure environment (114) and for each device (104) before it is release d 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 device s (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 identifi ed when the public key (124) matches a linked public key (118). A risk that the message (122) is fraudulently signed is determined.