Secure Coprocessors in Electronic Commerce Applications
Bennet Yee
Microsoft Corporation
J. D. Tygar
Carnegie Mellon University
Abstract
Many researchers believe electronic wallets (secure storage devices
that maintain account balances) are the solution to electronic
commerce challenges. This paper argues for a more powerful model ---
a secure coprocessor --- that can run a small operating system, run
application programs, and also keep secure storage for cryptographic
keys and balance information.
We have built a system called Dyad, on top of a port of the Mach 3.0
microkernel to the IBM Citadel secure coprocessor. This paper
describes the abstract architecture of Dyad and a general discussion
of secure coprocessor implementations of a variety of electronic
commerce applications:
- Copy protection for software
- Electronic cash (including a critique of proposed solutions for
point-of-sale electronic wallet systems)
- Electronic contracts
- Secure postage
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