Patent ID: 7543159

Claim:
A method of processing and executing an operation on a data-processing system comprising a processor, a first persistent memory, a second persistent memory, an operating system, and a first cryptographic key stored in said second persistent memory, the method comprising: a writing step for writing first unencrypted information into said first persistent memory, wherein the first unencrypted information is selected to comprise a second cryptographic key usable for decrypting second encrypted information for the operation; an encryption step for encrypting said first unencrypted information under use of said first cryptographic key, creating therefrom first encrypted information in said first persistent memory; an access-limitation step for setting the data-processing system to a state in which writing into said first persistent memory is controlled by the operating system; a decryption step for decrypting said first encrypted information under use of said first cryptographic key, thereby generating therefrom the first unencrypted information; and an execution step for executing the operation by said processor, using the first unencrypted information generated in the decryption step; and a scanning step for scanning the first persistent memory for cryptographic keys, the scanning step comprising walking memory to seek an object type representing a cryptographic key; and wherein the first persistent memory has a first level of power dissipation; wherein the second persistent memory has a second level of power dissipation that is lower than said first level of power dissipation; and wherein the encryption step is configured to encrypt cryptographic keys recognized by the scanning step.