Patent ID: 9548867
Date: 2017-01-17
CPC Classifications: G06F,H04L

Claim:
1. An apparatus for providing firmware to a module in an industrial control system, wherein the module includes a first identifier corresponding to the module, the apparatus comprising: a removable storage medium for distributing the firmware, wherein the removable storage medium includes a second identifier corresponding to the removable storage medium and wherein the second identifier is written in a read-only segment on the removable storage medium by a manufacturer of the removable storage medium; a firmware file stored on the removable storage medium, wherein the firmware file is executable by the module to control, at least in part, operation of the module when loaded on the module; and a certificate used to authenticate the firmware file and stored on the removable storage medium, wherein: the certificate includes a copy of the first identifier corresponding to the module and a copy of the second identifier corresponding to the removable storage medium, and the certificate is configured to be read by the module to permit the module to load the firmware file to the module when the copy of the first identifier in the certificate matches the first identifier included on the module and the copy of the second identifier in the certificate matches the second identifier on the removable storage medium.