Patent ID: 7900239

Claim:
A method for controlling access by a body of code to a resource including at least one of an area of computer memory, a cryptographic key, or other restrictive data, the resources held within and managed by a secure computer system, the method comprising the steps of: (i) attaching a signature to said code after compilation of said code, the signature being unique to the code; (ii) providing a cryptographic key bound to said resource by an owner of the resource; (iii) conducting a verification operation on said signature using the cryptographic key; (iv) and controlling access to the resource by the code in dependence upon a result of said verification operation; wherein said code has a plurality of signatures associated therewith; step (iii) comprises conducting a verification operation on each said signature using said cryptographic key bound to said resource; and step (iv) comprises allowing said code access to said resource only in response to all of said signatures being verified.