View source for 17956940. DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR SECURELY LOADING EMBEDDED SOFTWARE USING A MANIFEST simplified abstract (GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY)

=DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR SECURELY LOADING EMBEDDED SOFTWARE USING A MANIFEST=


==Organization Name==

[[:Category:GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY|GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY]]


[[Category:GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY]]

==Inventor(s)==

[[:Category:Jeffrey S. Gilton of Cincinnati OH (US)|Jeffrey S. Gilton of Cincinnati OH (US)]][[Category:Jeffrey S. Gilton of Cincinnati OH (US)]]

[[:Category:Matthew B. Pfenninger of Cincinnati OH (US)|Matthew B. Pfenninger of Cincinnati OH (US)]][[Category:Matthew B. Pfenninger of Cincinnati OH (US)]]

[[:Category:Douglas R. Nichols of Kentwood MI (US)|Douglas R. Nichols of Kentwood MI (US)]][[Category:Douglas R. Nichols of Kentwood MI (US)]]

[[:Category:Russell Seidel of Endicott NY (US)|Russell Seidel of Endicott NY (US)]][[Category:Russell Seidel of Endicott NY (US)]]

==DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR SECURELY LOADING EMBEDDED SOFTWARE USING A MANIFEST - A simplified explanation of the abstract==


This abstract first appeared for US patent application 17956940 titled 'DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR SECURELY LOADING EMBEDDED SOFTWARE USING A MANIFEST

==Simplified Explanation==

The abstract describes a method for initializing an engine control system of an aircraft by authenticating a boot loader, manifest, and software components before loading and executing them.

* The method involves authenticating a boot loader and a manifest containing hashes of software components.
* A first set of software components is loaded onto a computer-readable medium and authenticated by comparing their hashes to those in the manifest.
* The authenticated software components are then executed to initialize the engine control system.

== Potential Applications ==
This technology can be applied in the aerospace industry for initializing engine control systems in aircraft.

== Problems Solved ==
This technology helps ensure the security and integrity of the software components used in the engine control system of an aircraft.

== Benefits ==
The method provides a secure way to initialize the engine control system, reducing the risk of unauthorized access or tampering with critical software components.

== Potential Commercial Applications ==
The technology can be utilized by aircraft manufacturers, airlines, and aviation maintenance companies to enhance the security and reliability of engine control systems.

== Possible Prior Art ==
One possible prior art could be the use of secure boot mechanisms in computer systems to verify the integrity of software components before execution.

=== What are the specific software components loaded onto the computer-readable medium? ===

The specific software components loaded onto the computer-readable medium are the first set of software components containing critical functions for the engine control system.

=== How does the method ensure the authenticity of the software components during the initialization process? ===

The method ensures the authenticity of the software components by calculating hashes of each component, comparing them to the hashes in the manifest, and only executing the components that pass the authentication process.


==Original Abstract Submitted==

A method for initializing an engine control system of an aircraft may include authenticating a boot loader, authenticating a manifest in response to authentication of the boot loader wherein the manifest contains hashes of one or more software components, and in response to authentication of the manifest, loading a first set of software components from among the one or more software components onto a non-transitory computer-readable medium, calculating a hash of each software component of the first set of software components, authenticating the first set of software components by comparing the calculated hash of each software component of the first set of software components to the hash of a corresponding software component in the manifest, and executing the first set of software components in response to authentication of the one or more software components. Devices and systems are also provided for initializing an engine control system of an aircraft.



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