US 12,143,471 B2
Pairing devices for enhanced security
Eric J. Campbell, Rochester, MN (US); Christopher Steffen, Rochester, MN (US); Chad Albertson, Rochester, MN (US); and Nicholas Ollerich, Rochester, MN (US)
Assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US)
Filed by INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, Armonk, NY (US)
Filed on Mar. 28, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/656,685.
Prior Publication US 2023/0308261 A1, Sep. 28, 2023
Int. Cl. G06F 21/72 (2013.01); G06F 21/44 (2013.01); G06F 21/62 (2013.01); G06F 21/70 (2013.01); G06F 21/71 (2013.01); H04L 9/08 (2006.01); H04L 9/14 (2006.01); H04W 12/50 (2021.01)
CPC H04L 9/0825 (2013.01) [G06F 21/44 (2013.01); G06F 21/62 (2013.01); G06F 21/70 (2013.01); G06F 21/71 (2013.01); G06F 21/72 (2013.01); H04L 9/0866 (2013.01); H04L 9/0872 (2013.01); H04L 9/14 (2013.01); H04W 12/50 (2021.01)] 25 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method to tie a removable component to a server rack, comprising:
storing a first pairing key into a security module of the server rack;
inserting the removable component into the server rack, wherein the removable component has not been paired with the server rack;
burning the first pairing key into the removable component;
receiving a request at the server rack from the removable component to operate on the server rack, the request including a burned in pairing key;
comparing by the security module the burned in pairing key with the first pairing key;
permitting operation of the removable component in response to a match between the burned in pairing key and the first pairing key; and
initiating revalidation of the removable component by the security module during operation to ensure that the removeable component is where it is intended to be in the server rack and was not tampered with.