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SonyGranted patentCameras & imagingInterest 7/10

Sony patents camera chips that sign photos to prove they are real

Sony has patented a design for image sensors that use built-in security keys to create a digital signature for every photo taken. The camera chip generates a unique code based on its own secret key and a public key from the receiving device, attaching this code to the image data. This allows the receiving device to verify that the photo came from the specific camera and has not been altered.

Why it mattersThis technology could help verify the authenticity of digital photos, which is increasingly important as image editing and synthetic media become more common.

In the filing’s own words

An image sensor according to an embodiment includes a first key information storage unit that holds a first secret key SK 1 in advance, a communication unit that receives a second public key PK 2 corresponding to a second secret key SK 2 different from the first secret key SK 1 from the external apparatus, a first session key generation unit that generates a session key on the basis of the first secret key SK 1 and the second public key PK 2, and a first encryption unit that generates, on the basis of a session key generated by the first session key generation unit and image data, coded information including at least one of authenticated information or encrypted information.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An image sensor, comprising one or more circuits to: store a first private key in memory; receive a second public key corresponding to a second private key from an external apparatus; generate a session key based at least in part on the first private key and the second public key; generate image data; generate, based at least in part on the session key and the image data, coded information including at least one of authenticated information and encrypted information; and transmit the image data and the coded information to the external apparatus, wherein the coded information enables the external apparatus to authenticate the image data.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
Information processing device, information processing method, information processing system, and computer program
Patent number
US12739117B2
Application number
18689671
Filed
Sep 7, 2022
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
24

Classified under

H04L 9/14 Electricity & electronicsH04L 9/088 Electricity & electronicsH04L 9/3066 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.