Patent ID: 8384412

Claim:
A method, performed by an authority, comprising: distributing a first generic circuit of a plurality of generic circuits for electronic devices to a first party, the plurality of generic circuits being substantially identical to each other; receiving a unique first personalization value from the first party; encrypting the first personalization value, received from the first party, using a first secret encryption key, thereby generating an encrypted first personalization value; transmitting the encrypted first personalization value to the first party, wherein the first generic circuit is configured to store the transmitted encrypted first personalization value, and to respond to execution of a first piece of software by: retrieving the stored encrypted first personalization value; decrypting the retrieved encrypted first personalization value; and using the decrypted first personalization value to control execution of the first piece of software by the first generic circuit; and distributing additional generic circuits in which a second secret encryption key is used to encrypt additional personalization values for the additional generic set-top-box circuits.