Protocols for a two-tiered trusted computing base

Jose Moreira-Sanchez*, Mark Ryan, Flavio Garcia

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

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Abstract

A trusted computing base (TCB) is the minimum set of hardware and software components which are inherently trusted by a platform, and upon which more complex secure services can be built. The TCB is secure by definition, and it is typically implemented through hardened hardware components, which ensure that their secret data cannot be compromised. In this paper, we propose and investigate a two-tier TCB architecture that benefits both from a small hardened `minimal' TCB, but also offers the possibility of integrating complex security services into an `extended' TCB. Our design includes a collection of protocols to ensure (1) secure update of the components, (2) secure boot of the platform, (3) attestation, and (4) detection of powerful attackers that can corrupt memory regions together with a (highly probable) platform recovery mechanism after such an attack. The protocols have been formally modelled, and we provide a collection of security properties that have been verified using the automatic protocol verifier ProVerif.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationComputer Security – ESORICS 2022
Subtitle of host publication27th European Symposium on Research in Computer Security, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 26–30, 2022, Proceedings, Part III
EditorsVijayalakshmi Atluri, Roberto Di Pietro, Christian D. Jensen, Weizhi Meng
Place of PublicationCham
PublisherSpringer
Pages229–249
Number of pages21
Edition1
ISBN (Electronic)9783031171437
ISBN (Print)9783031171420
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Sept 2022
Event27th European Symposium on Research in Computer Security - Copenhagen, Denmark
Duration: 26 Sept 202230 Sept 2022

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science
PublisherSpringer
Volume13556
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

Conference27th European Symposium on Research in Computer Security
Abbreviated titleESORICS 2022
Country/TerritoryDenmark
CityCopenhagen
Period26/09/2230/09/22

Keywords

  • Trusted computing base
  • Secure boot
  • Remote attestation
  • Formal modelling

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