Atmel Ships Ultra-Secure Crypto IC for Connected Systems

ATECC508A enables confidentiality, data integration and authentication

Atmel Corp. has introduced the next-generation CryptoAuthentication integrated circuit (IC), designed for such ultra-secure Internet of Things (IoT) applications as home automation, industrial networking, accessory and consumable authentication, medical and mobile applications.

Atmel’s new ATECC508A is the first of its kind to apply hardware-based key storage to provide the full complement of security capabilities, including confidentiality, data integrity and authentication. For the rapidly growing IoT market, the device provides these features in systems with microcontrollers (MCUs) running encryption/decryption algorithms in software. Similar to other Atmel CryptoAuthentication products, the ATECC508A uses cryptographic countermeasures and key storage that are hardware-based, providing greater security than software-based measures.

The ATECC508A features the ECDH (Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman) security protocol for encryptions and decryptions, as well as Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm authentication. Further, the ATECC508A is the second IC in Atmel’s CryptoAuthentication portfolio with advanced Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) capabilities. 

The ATECC508A is compatible with any microcontroller or microprocessor on the market. It delivers extremely low-power consumption, and requires only a single general purpose I/O over a wide voltage range. Its small size allows it to be used in different types of applications, and prolongs battery life as well.

The ATECC508A has a flexible command set that allows use in many applications. With network or IoT-node protection, the IC authenticates node IDs to ensure message integrity and encryption. It also provides anti-counterfeiting by validating the authenticity of spare parts and ancillary accessories, and can be used to validate memory storage.

Atmel’s new CryptoAuthentication IC also protects firmware or media. Here, it validates code stored in flash memory at startup, both to ward off unauthorized modifications as well as to encrypt code images and downloaded files. 

For secure data and programmable production, microprocessor crypto accelerators can use ATECC508A’s stored  secret keys and encrypted reads and writes. The IC also authenticates user-entered passwords without letting the expected value become known. It maps memorable passwords to a random number, and securely exchanges password values with remote systems.

The ATECC508A also features methods to ward off physical attacks, and logical attacks on data. Further protection is provided by hardware restrictions on how keys are generated or used.

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