Patent ID: 6892302

Claim:
A method of providing for reliably identifying a Security Profile of a device that generates digital signatures, comprising the steps of, (a) for each of a plurality of devices manufactured in a secure environment, (i) recording together, within the secure environment, a public key of a public-private key pair of the manufactured device with a Security Profile of the manufactured device, wherein the Security Profile includes security features and manufacturing history of the manufactured device and wherein the Security Profile enables a security level of the manufactured device relative to other manufactured devices to be determined dynamically, based upon security features and manufacturing history of the manufactured device, (ii) generating, within the secure environment, a digital signature therefor to collectively define a Security Certificate, the public key and Security Profile thereby being securely linked together, and (iii) storing, within the secure environment, a private key of the public-private key pair within the manufactured device, and (b) before each manufactured device is released from the secure environment, incorporating its respective Security Certificate into the manufactured device such that the Security Certificate is sent with a digital signature that is generated by the manufactured device using the private key.