Advanced remote firmware upgrades using TPM 2.0

A central aspect for securing connected embedded systems are remote firmware upgrades to deal with vulnerabilities discovered after deployment. In many scenarios, Hardware Security Modules such as the Trusted Computing Groups Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 are used as a security-anchor in embedded systems. In this paper, we discuss the benefits of TPM 2.0 for securing embedded systems and present a concept for advanced remote firmware upgrade of an embedded system with enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights and Privacy protection of device-resident data (i.e., data that remains on the device during the flashing process). This concept utilizes unique features of TPM 2.0. Furthermore, a prototypical implementation using a hardware TPM 2.0 and the TPM Software Stack 2.0 low-level System API is presented as a proof-of-concept.