#cryptomanager

CryptoManager: Between ASICs and FPGAs

Manufacturers typically configure application-specific integrated circuits (ASICS) for targeted use cases. In contrast, a field-programmable gate array – or FPGA – is an integrated circuit with custom logic that is configured by a customer or designer after manufacturing of the underlying FPGA microchip. Although FPGAs offer a number of advantages – including low, non-recurring engineering costs…

There is no giant Faraday cage for the IoT

A Faraday cage or Faraday shield can best be defined as an enclosure formed by conductive material that is used to block electric fields. As such, Faraday cages either heavily attenuate or block the reception and transmission of radio waves, which are a form of electromagnetic radiation.

Image Credit: Frank Vincentz (Via Wikipedia)

Unfortunately, there is no Faraday cage large enough to shield…

CryptoManager enables FaaS with in-field provisioning

Rambus has announced that its CryptoManager security platform now supports in-field feature and service provisioning, alongside SoC management and device personalization capabilities.

“In-field feature and service provisioning enables complete silicon-to-cloud functionality to support the growing requirements of trusted applications,” said Dr. Martin Scott, senior VP and GM of the Rambus…

Building silicon foundations for security

Paul Kocher, the chief scientist of Rambus’ Cryptography Research division, recently presented a DesignCon 2016 keynote session that explored the crowded intersection of hardware, Moore’s Law and cryptography. As Kocher notes, cryptographic limits have historically been constrained by a salient lack of computing power.

“[Following Moore’s Law], more computing power enables much stronger…

When power becomes a problem

Semiconductor Engineering editor in chief Ed Sperling recently reported that the current emphasis on lowering power – in everything from wearable electronics to data centers – is turning into a “perfect storm” for the semiconductor ecosystem.

“In the past, most issues involving power—notably current leakage, physical effects such as electromigration, electrostatic discharge, RC delay and reduced…

Rambus celebrates 25 years of innovation

Founded in 1990 by Mark Horowitz and Mike Farmwald, Rambus scientists and engineers have spent the past quarter of a decade bringing invention to market.

“Rambus has a rich, 25-year history of developing and licensing technology to a wide variety of customers across multiple industries,” said Rambus CMO Jerome Nadel.

“When we first introduced RDRAM, no one could have predicted that our portfolio…

CryptoManager hits general availability milestone

Designed to bolster efficiency and security during the chip manufacturing process, CryptoManager was first announced in June 2014 and hit its general availability milestone earlier this month.

“SoC manufacturing has become increasingly intricate and costly,” Rambus security marketing manager Zainab Al-Shamma explained.

“That is why…

Understanding the methodology behind side-channel attacks

Rambus Cryptography Research Fellow Pankaj Rohatgi recently penned an in-depth EDN article describing the methodology behind side-channel attacks.

The technique, says Rohatgi, relies on the fact that any physical realization of cryptography in hardware or software cannot be an “atomic black box” as assumed by the traditional mathematical proofs of security. Simply put, physical systems routinely…