Encrypting touch-sensitive display
View Patent ↗A hardware encryption device comprises: a touch panel controller; and a cryptographic engine in communication with the touch panel controller. The touch panel controller receives co-ordinates from the cryptographic engine corresponding to an area on a touch panel selected by a user. The cryptographic engine is operable to discriminate between a selection in a secure area on a screen and a selection in a non-secure area on a screen, and to action the selection differently depending on whether the selection is in a secure area or a non-secure area.
1. A method of controlling an encrypting touch display comprising:
receiving by an encryption device of the touch display configuration information describing a transaction screen from a transaction application, the transaction screen including a pad zone and a mouse area, the pad zone including touch areas having a value;
receiving by the encryption device touch input data during display of the transaction screen;
comparing by the encryption device the touch input data to the configuration information;
routing by the encryption device the touch input data to the transaction application through an operating system queue when the touch input data is in the mouse area; and
routing by the encryption device the touch input data to the transaction application through a touch area input queue when the touch input data is inside the pad zone.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mouse area is outside the pad zone.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the touch input data received by the encryption device includes co-ordinates of an area touched by a customer.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:
ascertaining if the area touched by the customer corresponds to the pad zone.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the pad zone can operate in one of two modes, an open mode and a secure mode.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein when a customer selects a touch area having a value in the pad zone operating in secure mode, the encryption device waits until a predetermined number of touch areas having a value having been selected, and then collates the values associated with the touch areas selected and encrypts the collated values into a block.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the transaction screen includes a second pad zone.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing buttons in the mouse area.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the configuration information comprises pad zone location information, location information for the touch areas having a value, and a mode of the pad zone, and the values attributed to the touch areas.
10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:
storing the configuration information in secure memory for the duration of time for which the transaction screen will be displayed.
11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:
deleting the stored configuration information from the secure memory in preparation for a next transaction screen to be rendered.
12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining that the configuration information complies with predefined rules.
13. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving an XFS command including configuration information and ignoring any defined areas in the touch display configuration information not provided in the received XFS command.