A gasoline service station includes gasoline dispensers and a PIN pad including keypads for receiving personal identification numbers and assembled into a network for securely communicating personal identification numbers from the PIN pads and dispensers to a host computer over unsecured data lines. The PIN pads and dispensers each include means for encryption and outputting of personal identification numbers. A security module includes means for decryption of data associated with each PIN pad and dispenser in a process for the respective PIN pads and dispensers and means for encryption of data associated with the host computer in a process which is different from its decryption of data associated with the PIN pads and dispensers. A site controller, which is not secure from unauthorized signal detection, has means for directing encrypted data received from the PIN pads and the dispensers to the security module and from the security module to the dispensers or the host computer as needed for properly directing encrypted data to a desired destination.
An encryption module for encrypting financial and other sensitive data may be conveniently interposed in series between a personal computer and the keyboard associated therewith. An application program designed to run on the PC is configured to prompt the user to enter his PIN or other confidential data into the encryption module; consequently the confidential data need not be transmitted in an unencrypted fashion, and need not reside on the PC hard drive in an unencrypted form.
A secret information protection system for protecting secret information stored in an information processing system from access by an unauthorized user after an authorized user terminates the authorized user's use of the information processing system. The secret information protection system includes a storage device for storing the secret information and an erasure instructing device for generating an erasing instruction to erase the secret information from the storage device. The erasure instructing device has a switch, operated by the authorized person when the authorized person terminates the authorized person's use of the information processing system, for generating the erasing instruction when the authorized person terminates the authorized person's use of the information processing system. An erasure device erases the secret information in accordance with the erasing instruction from the erasure instructing device.
We have recognized that there is a strong need to control and maintain the secrecy of the intelligence that may be used by computers to communicate with another, for example, by encrypting the messages that they exchange with one another. Thus, the encryption keys used to encrypt such messages need to be managed in a highly secure manner. Accordingly, we provide an encryption module, which, in accord with an aspect of the invention, generates a unique device encryption key (S.sub.local), a cryptographic key formed from a unique identification key (S.sub.id) and an associated public key (KP.sub.id), and at least one program encryption key, in which the public key is generated as a function of the unique identification key. The module then encrypts the unique identification key and program encryption key using said device encryption key and stores the encrypted result in memory internal to security module, thereby securing the keys against misappropriation. In addition, the module provides a mechanism for using the program encryption key to encrypt information that it receives from an external source and store the encrypted information in memory external to the security module, and responsive to receiving from a requester a request for the program encryption key, encrypting the program encryption key, in accord with an aspect of the invention, using a symmetrical encryption key generated as a function of a public key generated by a security module associated with the requester. The former security module then supplies the encrypted program encryption key to the requester.
A digital information protection scheme using an improved security protocol. In a system in which a user makes an access to a digital information provided by an information center by connecting a computer card owned by the user to an information terminal device connected with the information center, a work key for encrypting a desired digital information is delivered from the information center to the computer card through the information terminal device, and the work key is registered in the computer card; the desired digital information encrypted by the work key is delivered from the information center to the information terminal device; and an encrypted digital information delivered from the information center is decrypted at the information terminal device by using the work key registered in the computer card, and a decrypted digital information is provided to the user at the information terminal device.
A card-enabled processing system comprises a security module for securely exchanging data with cards, such as smart cards, and an application module for processing data from the smart cards. The security module encrypts and decrypts data using keys, which are securely stored in a secure memory. The security module also validates the cards before processing by the application module occurs and assists the card in validating the system. The application module provides a common platform in which different types of smart cards can be processed.
