Patent ID: 8266711

Claim:
A method for supplying information on security features of a memory device, the method comprising: generating, by a memory device, a response to a query, the memory device storing a control structure which controls access to protected data on the memory device, the control structure including a publicly accessible component and a plurality of confidential components to which access is restricted to only authenticated entities, wherein different authenticated entities have access to different confidential components, such that an authenticated entity is authorized to access part but not all of the plurality of confidential components, and wherein the publicly accessible component and the plurality of confidential components control access to the protected data on the memory device, the generating includes: (a) if the query is for the publicly accessible component, obtaining the publicly accessible component and including it in the response; and (b) if the query is for one of the plurality of confidential components, obtaining such confidential component, provided that an entity which sent the query is authenticated to the memory device and is allowed to access this confidential component, and including such obtained confidential component in the response; and (c) supplying the response to the query.