Electrical computers and digital processing systems: processing – Processing architecture – Microprocessor or multichip or multimodule processor having...
Reexamination Certificate
1997-10-03
2001-01-09
Follansbee, John A. (Department: 2783)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: processing
Processing architecture
Microprocessor or multichip or multimodule processor having...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06173390
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a storage medium driving device which ensures the security of the program stored in the medium against unauthorized use or other illegal copying, and also to a storage medium and a method capable of ensuring the program security, wherein the storage medium is a detachable medium such as a digital video disk, CD-ROM, or magneto-optical disk.
There are various methods known in the art for ensuring the security of programs and data stored in media. One of them is to devise such a program as to guard against unauthorized use, and another is to devise an executing program of a processor like a personal computer so as to be safe from illegal access.
However, if the personal computer is unconditionally allowed to fetch the program stored in the medium, it is difficult to protect the program from illegal copying, and therefore, it is preferable to limit the ability to fetch the program to the medium driving device.
The level of security differs program by program, which means that each storage medium must be provided with its own level of security. To achieve this result, firmware is required for controlling a storage medium driving device. However, the firmware must have a sufficient capacity for accommodating a built-in memory, thereby increasing the production costs of the storage medium driving devices.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a storage medium driving device, a storage medium and a data protection method thereof, which enable execution of various types of security for record information recorded in a detachable storage medium without the necessity of raising the production cost.
The present invention relates to a data protecting method and a storage medium driving device which realize protection of record information recorded in a detachable storage medium, and a resident control program stored in the storage medium driving device which performs the following steps: on the basis of instructions from an executing device for executing a specified process, it is judged whether a control program for executing the process is incorporated or not. If it is judged NO, a control program is searched from a mounted storage medium, read in, and is incorporated. Consequently, it is enabled for a variation in security without the necessity of a large internal memory or a rise in production cost.
Further, in the present invention, if the control a program is encrypted, the resident control program searches for the encrypted control program, reads it in, decrypts it, and incorporates it. Since the read-in control program is incorporated in a decrypted manner, a process which can not be executed by other storage medium driving devices can be executed.
Further, in the present invention, the resident control program reads in information from a storage medium, which is peculiar to each of storage media, and decrypts control programs by using the peculiar read-in information. Since the read-in control programs are incorporated after decryption by using the peculiar information by the storage medium, a process which can not be executed by other storage medium driving devices can be executed.
Further, in the present invention, the resident control program is interlocked with the incorporated control program. Moreover, it is judged by the resident control program whether the read-in control program can be interlocked therewith, and if it is judged YES, the control program is incorporated. For example, it is judged whether the resident control program and the control program read-in by a reading-in means can be interlocked with each other, or whether the resident control program and the read-in control program can be interlocked with each other if specified conditions are met such as that no unnecessary program is appended to the read-in control program, and so on. Thus, since no control program that is unable to be interlocked with the resident control program is incorporated, no malfunctions and thus no errors are likely to occur.
Further, in the present invention, it is judged by the resident control program whether the incorporated control program is equal to the read-in control program, and if it is judged YES (the programs are equal), the read-in control program is not incorporated. Thus, unnecessary actions are avoided.
Further, in the present invention, no program other than the resident control program is allowed to read in any information peculiar to each storage medium. It is alternately not allowed to any program other than the resident control program to read in any control program from the storage medium. Thus, it is impossible for a process executing device such as a personal computer to read in a control program from a storage medium, to control the storage medium driving device and to include the contents thereof.
Further, in the present invention, the resident control program reads in encrypted information kept within the control program, and it is judged on the basis of the read-in encrypted information whether this control program has been tampered. If it is judged NO (the control program has not been tampered with), the control program is read-in. In this way, if the control program stored in the storage medium has been tampered with, it is not used, thus it can not be used in a manner other than it is supposed to.
A storage medium according to the present invention stores peculiar information therein, and it is driven by the afore-mentioned device which is able to read in information peculiar to each medium. Since the storage medium stores control programs in an encrypted manner, no process can be executed by a storage medium driving device other than a specified one.
Further, the storage medium according to the present invention keeps within the stored control program encrypted information for judging whether this control program has been tampered with, and it is driven by the afore-mentioned device which judges on the basis of encrypted information kept in the control program whether the control program has been tampered with. In this storage medium, if the stored control program has been tampered with, this control program will not be used, thus it can not be used in a manner other than it is supposed to.
The above and further objects and features of the invention will more fully be apparent from the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5392351 (1995-02-01), Hasebe et al.
patent: 5555304 (1996-09-01), Hasebe et al.
patent: 5608910 (1997-03-01), Shimakura
patent: 5657301 (1997-08-01), Yoshikawa et al.
patent: 5805800 (1998-09-01), Kotani et al.
Kamada Jun
Kotani Seigo
Torii Naoya
Follansbee John A.
Fujitsu Limited
Greer Burns & Crain Ltd.
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