
Microchip introduces hardware cryptography-enabled 32-Bit microcontroller
for Internet of Things (IoT) applications
Key Facts:
- CEC1302 offers significant performance improvement over firmware-based security solutions
- Pre-boot authentication of system firmware protects against security attacks
- Can be used as a standalone security coprocessor or to replace an existing microcontroller
- Single-package solution uses an ARM® Cortex®-M4-based MCU with added security functions
Microchip announces a new hardware crypto-enabled 32-bit microcontroller. The CEC1302’s hardware-based cryptography suite offers significant performance improvements over firmware-based solutions. The CEC1302 makes it easy to add security to Internet of Things (IoT) devices, offering easy-to-use encryption and authentication for programming flexibility and increased levels of security.
Security threats are increasing exponentially in terms of frequency, targeted devices, malignancy and costs of attacks. The CEC1302 allows for pre-boot authentication of the system firmware in order to ensure that the firmware is untouched and uncorrupted, thereby preventing security attacks such as man-in-the-middle, denial-of-service and back-door vulnerabilities. It can also be used to authenticate any firmware updates, protecting the system from malware or memory corruption.
The CEC1302 offers private key and customer programming flexibility with a full-featured microcontroller in a single-package solution in order to minimise customer risk. The device provides savings in terms of power drain and also improved execution of application performance. In addition, since the CEC1302 is a full 32-bit microcontroller with an ARM® Cortex®-M4 core, adding security functionality only results in a small additional cost. The CEC1302 can be used as a standalone security coprocessor or can replace an existing microcontroller. The hardware-enabled public key engine of the device is also 20 to 50 times faster than firmware-enabled algorithms, and the hardware-enabled hashing is 100 times faster.
In order to quickly develop applications based on the CEC1302, use MikroElektronika’s CEC1302 Clicker (MIKROE-1970) and CEC1302 Clicker 2 (MIKROE-1969). Use these boards with MikroElektronika’s complete development toolchain for Microchip CEC1302 ARM® Cortex®-M4 MCUs which includes compilers, development boards, programmers/debuggers or with standard third-party ARM® MCU toolchains.
The CEC1302D-SZ-C0 is available today for sampling and volume production in a 144-WFBGA package.
For more information, visit Microchip’s Web site at: www.microchip.com/CEC1302
Who are Microchip?
Microchip Technology Inc. is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality.
For more information on Microchip’s range of IoT hardware, or to talk to us about how we can help you to improve your technology offering, please contact us via email on sales@lineonesales.co.uk and telephone on +44 (0) 845 453 1169