Method and System for Controlled Distribution of Application Code and Content Data Within a Computer Network

Abstract

A secure communication methodology is presented. The client device is configured to download application code and/or content data from a server operated by a service provider. Embedded within the client is a client private key, a client serial number, and a copy of a server public key. The client forms a request, which includes the client serial number, encrypts the request with the server public key, and sends the download request to the server. The server decrypts the request with the server's private key and authenticates the client. The received client serial number is used to search for a client public key that corresponds to the embedded client private key. The server encrypts its response, which includes the requested information, with the client public key of the requesting client, and only the private key in the requesting client can be used to decrypt the information downloaded from the server.

1 . A method for configuring a semiconductor chip, the method comprising: 
 selecting a private cryptographic key;    selecting a public cryptographic key, wherein the public cryptographic key and the private cryptographic key are not related by a public/private key pair relationship;    embedding the private cryptographic key and the public cryptographic key in a read-only memory on the semiconductor chip; and    storing a second public cryptographic key associated with the private cryptographic key exclusively outside the semiconductor chip.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the semiconductor chip provides interface processing at a client.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the embedding step further comprises the embedding of a serial number associated with the semiconductor chip.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 storing the public cryptographic key in a database in association with a serial number associated with the semiconductor chip.    
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the private cryptographic key, and the public cryptographic key in the read-only memory are inaccessible to an input/output connection of the semiconductor chip.  
   
   
       6 . An article of manufacture comprising: 
 a first read-only memory structure containing an embedded private cryptographic key, the embedded private cryptographic key being associated with a stored public cryptographic key stored exclusively outside the first read-only memory structure; and    a second read-only memory structure containing an embedded public cryptographic key, wherein the embedded public cryptographic key and the embedded private cryptographic key are not related by a public/private key pair relationship.    
   
   
       7 . The article of manufacture of  claim 6  wherein the article of manufacture is a semiconductor chip.  
   
   
       8 . The article of manufacture of  claim 7  wherein the semiconductor chip is capable of providing interface processing at a client.  
   
   
       9 . The article of manufacture of  claim 8  wherein the first read-only memory structure and the second read-only memory structure are contained within a cryptographic unit of a CPU chip.