Industry Summary Articles

Secure Thingz and Data I/O Corporation announced they will be collaborating with Cypress Semiconductor Corp. to address the growing market demand for secure microcontrollers (MCUs).

Because the need for security is so high, the market for secure elements and secure microcontrollers is anticipated to grow to 4 billion units in the next 5 years. To better address the IoT device market, Cypress, the leader in advanced embedded system solutions, is offering the PSoC® 6 MCU to bridge the gap between expensive, power hungry application processors and low-performance MCUs. Secure Thingz and Data I/O are working with Cypress for easier delivery and implementation through an end-to-end solution that includes secure development, manufacturing and downstream provisioning.

"End-to-end security spans the life of the IoT device," said Jack Ogawa, senior director of Embedded Security at Cypress. "PSoC 6 MCUs have been designed with this in mind, offering the ability to establish a root of trust. Our collaboration with Secure Thingz and Data I/O provides a complete provisioning solution that leverages their expertise in security and secure programming."

The solution will leverage Secure Thingz' Secure Deploy architecture and the Data I/O SentriX™ Secure Provisioning Platform. The Secure Deploy architecture features a high-security framework, ensures simple management of critical intellectual property within the development process, and secures key management targeted for development, manufacturing and applications ("root of trust"). The architecture integrates seamlessly into the SentriX™ Platform. The SentriX Secure Provisioning Platform enables a cost-effective hardware based security approach for IoT OEMs and electronic manufacturers of all volumes.

"Securing billions of connected devices is a Herculean task, and it needs to be a shared responsibility across the supply chain," said Krishna Anne, CEO of Secure Thingz. "Secure Thingz believes that the best approach is building in security from inception and developing a robust chain of trust across the entire product lifecycle. Our collaboration with Cypress and Data I/O reflects the kind of innovative partnership required to better protect our connected world."

Cypress' PSoC 6 MCU

The ultra-low-power PSoC 6 MCU architecture offers the processing performance needed by IoT devices, eliminating the tradeoffs between power and performance. The PSoC 6 MCU contains a dual-core architecture, with both cores on a single chip. It has an Arm® Cortex®-M4 for high-performance tasks, complimented by an Arm® Cortex®-M0+ for co-processing tasks, and with security built-in, to protect IoT systems.

Secured connections must be established between hardware, cloud applications and servers, and finally users and services. The PSoC 6 MCU architecture supports multiple, simultaneous trusted applications without the need for external memories or secure elements. PSoC 6 offers scalable secure memory for multiple independent user-defined security policies, preventing IoT devices from becoming a security liability. PSoC 6 provides a new standard for IoT security. Cypress is ready to work with early adopter customers.

"OEMs and consumers are concerned IoT devices are vulnerable to cyber attacks and weaponization. Many security experts agree a hardware-based approach is the preferred method to secure IoT devices," said Anthony Ambrose, President and CEO of Data I/O Corporation. "Data I/O is excited to partner with Secure Thingz and Cypress to support PSoC 6 MCUs on the SentriX Secure Provisioning Platform for OEMs of all sizes and volumes."

The Secure Thingz Secure Deploy Architecture

The Secure Deploy architecture is an advanced integrated solution for delivering the supply chain of trust. The Secure Deploy architecture has been designed to enhance and simplify security implementations across the lifecycle of product creation, manufacturing, and management. This enables organizations to build upon secure foundations to protect their intellectual property across the life cycle of their products.

The Data I/O SentriX Secure Provisioning Platform

Data I/O's SentriX Platform is a comprehensive, flexible and cost-effective system to provision roots of trust in security conscious markets such as automotive and IoT. The SentriX Platform provisions secure elements, authentication ICs and secure microcontrollers one device at a time. This enables customers of all sizes and demand profiles to take full advantage of the latest silicon enabled security features without disruptive change to their production and logistics flows.

To view the original press release, please click here.

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