US 12,425,399 B2
Distributed hierarchical authentication of system component identities
Archana Nagaraj, San Ramon, CA (US); Chandana Prakash, Dublin, CA (US); Michael Gary Curcio, Apex, NC (US); and Rachel Weeks, Oak Ridge, TN (US)
Assigned to Cisco Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Cisco Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Mar. 22, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/701,299.
Prior Publication US 2023/0308439 A1, Sep. 28, 2023
Int. Cl. H04L 9/40 (2022.01)
CPC H04L 63/0876 (2013.01) 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
storing, by a first authenticator component, an indication that a component having a cryptographic identity is currently associated with a component group in an authentication hierarchy of component groups, the component group comprising the component and a second authenticator component capable of authenticating the component;
receiving, by the first authenticator component, a first group identity from the second authenticator component, the first group identity including: (i) an identity of the second authenticator component and the component, (ii) an authentication status of the component, the authentication status indicating whether the component is valid, invalid, or unsupported, and (iii) a digital certificate of the second authenticator component;
verifying, by the first authenticator component, the first group identity, wherein verifying the first group identity comprises determining the digital certificate of the second authenticator component is valid;
storing, by the first authenticator component, information associated with the second authenticator component and the component in an extensible list of volatile, runtime data;
signing, by the first authenticator component, the extensible list with a private key to create a second group identity; and
sending the second group identity to a next higher authenticator component in the authentication hierarchy.