/Patent Tracker
AppleGranted patentSecurity & privacyInterest 6/10

Apple patents secure app verification using built-in hardware keys

Apple describes a method where a device's secure hardware chip creates a unique digital signature to prove an app is authentic. This signature is sent to a remote server to confirm the app has not been tampered with or replaced by a fake version.

Why it mattersThis could make it harder for malicious software to impersonate legitimate apps, improving trust in digital transactions and secure logins.

In the filing’s own words

Techniques are disclosed relating to application verification. In various embodiments, a computing device includes a secure circuit configured to maintain a plurality of cryptographic keys of the computing device. In such an embodiment, the computing device receives, from an application, a request for an attestation usable to confirm an integrity of the application, instructs the secure circuit to use one of the plurality of cryptographic keys to supply the attestation for the application, and provides the attestation to a remote computing system in communication with the application. In some embodiments, the secure circuit is configured to verify received metadata pertaining to the identity of the application and use the cryptographic key to generate the attestation indicative of the identity of the application.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium having program instructions stored therein that are executable by a device to perform operations comprising: performing, by an application executing on the device, an enrollment in which a secure circuit included in the device generates a public key pair for the application to generate a subsequent attestation, wherein the enrollment includes the application receiving a certificate associated with the public key pair and usable to verify attestations; sending, by the executing application executing on the device, a request for an attestation indicating that the executing application has been verified; receiving, by the executing application, the requested attestation from the secure circuit included in the device, wherein the secure circuit is configured to provide the requested attestation based on a verification of the integrity of the executing application, wherein the verification includes performing a comparison of a signed hash value and a hash value generated from the executing application in response to the sent request; and using the received attestation to perform an action.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Application integrity attestation
Patent number
US12743555B2
Application number
18463744
Filed
Sep 8, 2023
Granted
Sep 22, 2026
Inventors
7
Claims
16

Classified under

G06F 21/64 Physics & computingH04L 9/14 Electricity & electronicsH04L 9/3236 Electricity & electronicsH04L 9/3263 Electricity & electronicsH04L 9/3271 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

More from Apple in Security & privacy

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.