Patent ID: 8819839

Claim:
An apparatus providing for a secure execution environment, comprising: a microprocessor, that executes non-secure application programs and a secure application program, wherein said non-secure application programs are accessed from a system memory via a system bus, and wherein said secure application program is executed in a secure execution mode, said microprocessor comprising: a watchdog manager, that monitors physical and operating environments of said microprocessor by noting and evaluating data communicated by a plurality of monitors, and that classifies said data to indicate a security level associated with execution of said secure application program, and that directs secure execution mode logic within said microprocessor to perform responsive actions in accordance with said security level, wherein said plurality of monitors operates independently of execution of said secure application program; and a secure non-volatile memory, coupled to said microprocessor via a private bus, that stores said secure application program, wherein said secure application program is encrypted in system memory according to an asymmetric cryptographic algorithm, and wherein, upon enablement of said secure execution mode, said microprocessor encrypts said secure application program according to a symmetric key algorithm and transfers said secure application program to said secure non-volatile memory over said private bus.