Data protection system and data protection method where a determination device is used for protecting crucial data from being altered illegally
A data protection system includes a determination device and a second storage unit. The determination device can be used to receive an execution instruction, determine whether the execution instruction is corresponding to a protected data area or a non-protected data area of a first storage unit, and control a data adjustment operation accordingly. The second storage unit can be coupled to the determination device and used to store ordinary data and crucial data. If the execution instruction and the data adjustment operation are corresponding to the non-protected data area, the data adjustment operation is only allowed to access the ordinary data, and the data adjustment operation is prohibited to access the crucial data.
1 . A data protection method of a data protection system, the data protection system comprising a first storage unit, a second storage unit, a processor and a determination device, the data protection method comprising:
the processor sending an instruction address to the first storage unit, the instruction address indicating a location in either a non-protected data area or a protected data area of the first storage unit;
the first storage unit sending a program code to the processor based on the instruction address;
the processor generating an execution instruction based on the program code wherein the execution instruction indicates whether the program code is originated from the non-protected data area or the protected data area of the first storage unit;
the processor transmitting the execution instruction to the determination device;
the determination device determining whether the program code is originated from the protected data area or the non-protected data area of the first storage unit based on the execution instruction;
the determination device permitting or denying an access of a data adjustment operation to crucial data in a second storage unit solely based on whether the execution instruction corresponds to the protected data area or the non-protected data area of the first storage unit without examining which portion of the second storage unit is being accessed by the data adjustment operation; and
triggering a locking mechanism by blowing a fuse to render a code stored in the protected data area of the first storage unit unalterable after the data protection system has been manufactured and leaves a factory.
2 . The data protection method of claim 1 , wherein the determination device permits the access of the data adjustment operation to the crucial data in the second storage unit if the execution instruction corresponds to the protected data area of the first storage unit.
3 . The data protection method of claim 1 , wherein the determination device denies the access of the data adjustment operation to the crucial data in the second storage unit if the execution instruction corresponds to the non-protected data area of the first storage unit.