Patent ID: 8037318
Filing Date: 2011-10-11
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for dependent trust in a computer system, comprising method operations of, defining a trust dependency among components of the computer system, wherein the defining includes defining a set of Platform Configuration Registers (PCRs), which are hardware, in a trust-determinant component's Trusted Platform Module (TPM) that a PCR in a trust-dependent component's TPM is trust-dependent upon; resolving the trust dependency, wherein resolving the trust dependency is recursive when a trust-determinant component is trust-dependent on another trust-determinant component; performing a security operation using the resolved trust dependency; computing an integrity measurement for a Core Root of Trust for Measurement (CRTM) of the trust-dependent component, wherein the computing of the integrity measurement is performed by the trust-determinant component; and recording the integrity measurement of the Measured-CRTM (M-CRTM) in a PCR of the TPM of the trust-dependent component.