Secure configuration of transient storage devices

Extension fields in a provisioning certificate in the authentication silo of a transient storage device (TSD) are used to provide secure configuration options for TSDs while operating within the constraints of the current IEEE 1667 standard. Immutable values for configurable settings of the storage device are set in extension fields of a provisioning certificate. The provisioning certificate is then installed on the storage device. The method takes advantage of properties unique to the IEEE 1667 certificate silo specification and ITU-T X.509 certificate specification. The method is implemented while satisfying the security requirements for device configuration and taking advantage of the existing standards definitions as they are, without modification. The method allows particular features present in the device firmware to be enabled or disabled. An administrator may choose to set several device settings, for example, the number of addressable command targets (ACTs), the portion of total data storage area all