To make sensitive transactions more secure, a new kind of trusted path―a Secure Remote Peripheral Encryption Tunnel (SeRPEnT)―is provided that can connect a server directly to a client's hardware peripherals. The device is a small, low-power "cryptographic switchboard" that operates in a trusted path mode and a pass-through mode. In the trusted path mode, the device tunnels connected peripherals through the client to a server with virtual machine-hosted applications. In the pass-through mode, the device passes through the connected peripherals to the client system, allowing normal use of the local system by the user. SeRPEnT also enables secure transactions between the user and server applications by only allowing input to the virtual machines to originate from the SeRPEnT device.
Patent Number: 8,615,656
Date Issued: December 24 2013