US 12,265,623 B2
Firmware protection using multi-chip storage of firmware image
Tomer Shachar, Omer (IL); Maxim Balin, Gan Yavne (IL); Yevgeni Gehtman, Modi'in (IL); and Or Herman Saffar, Beer Sheva (IL)
Assigned to EMC IP Holding Company LLC, Hopkinton, MA (US)
Filed by EMC IP Holding Company LLC, Hopkinton, MA (US)
Filed on Jan. 18, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/151,418.
Prior Publication US 2022/0229909 A1, Jul. 21, 2022
Int. Cl. G06F 21/57 (2013.01); G06F 11/14 (2006.01); G06F 21/60 (2013.01); G06F 21/79 (2013.01)
CPC G06F 21/572 (2013.01) [G06F 11/1415 (2013.01); G06F 21/602 (2013.01); G06F 21/79 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method, comprising:
obtaining a firmware image associated with a given processing device, wherein the given processing device comprises a plurality of distinct recovery chips, a firmware image chip that stores the firmware image and a processor coupled to a memory, and wherein at least two of the plurality of distinct recovery chips are physically within the given processing device;
encrypting, by the given processing device, the firmware image;
splitting, by the given processing device, the encrypted firmware image into a designated number of encrypted firmware image portions;
storing, by the given processing device, the designated number of encrypted firmware image portions on respective ones of the plurality of distinct recovery chips of the given processing device, wherein a threshold number of the encrypted firmware image portions from at least two different recovery chips of the given processing device are needed by the given processing device to reconstruct the firmware image; and
in response to determining that the firmware image chip is not responsive:
(i) initiating an obtaining of at least the threshold number of the encrypted firmware image portions from the plurality of distinct recovery chips physically within the given processing device;
(ii reconstructing the firmware image using a reconstruction process and the at least the threshold number of the encrypted firmware image portions obtained from the plurality of distinct recovery chips physically within the given processing device; and
(iii) restoring the reconstructed firmware image in the firmware image chip that stores the firmware image;
wherein, in response to the reconstruction process determining that one or more of the threshold number of the encrypted firmware image portions is one or more of corrupted and cannot be obtained from the plurality of distinct recovery chips physically within the given processing device, the reconstruction process obtains a different encrypted firmware image portion from a different distinct recovery chip physically within the given processing device.