Renesas Electronics introduced a new series of embedded security solutions employing general-purpose microcontrollers (MCUs) and microprocessors (MPUs) as completely new security structures for embedded devices that will function as Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints in homes and buildings. Now, as the first product of this series, Renesas has released the RX231 Communications Security Evaluation Kit.
At the same time as implementing strong security functions using a trusted secure IP that is already incorporated in the Renesas RX231 MCUs, the new kit provides both an evaluation board and a wide range of software, to prevent virus infections over communication channels and disclosure of confidential information and allows embedded devices with strengthened security to be developed easily.
Recently, there has been progress in supporting the IoT, in which a wide variety of devices is connected to the Internet for improving industrial productivity through data collection or remote control for energy saving. In many cases, overall network security in the IoT tends to be weak, since the scale of these systems is small, especially in edge devices at the very end of the network, such as sensors. To assure that edge devices do not become a platform for attack on the whole network, it has become necessary to make edge devices more intelligent, to enable them to independently make decisions and defend themselves, and to prevent both unauthorized software updates by viruses and other such actors and eavesdropping on the communications channels.
It is the management of encryption keys that correspond to passwords to protect information that is the core for implementing strong security functions. Since encryption keys were previously stored in flash memory or other nonvolatile memory, there was a risk that they could be discovered through malicious access. To address this issue, Renesas has developed a new technology that reliably protects these encryption keys using “trusted secure IP” hardware. In addition, by providing both an evaluation board and software at the same time the RX231 Communications Security Evaluation Kit serves as a one-step service and simplifies implementation of security and communications functions.
Renesas Electronics Europe
www.renesas.eu