Tag Archives: security

STMicroelectronics is emphasising power consumption and security for a range of 56MHz Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontrollers. Called STM32U0, the “MCUs can reduce energy consumption by up to 50% compared to previous product generations”, said the company. It “allows more designs to go battery-free, running solely from an energy-harvesting system such as a small photovoltaic cell”. On the same day, ST announced ...

Microchip has upped the security of a family of PIC18 microcontrollers by adding a one-time disable to its programming and debugging interface. Called PDID (programming and debugging interface disable), “when enabled, this enhanced code protection feature is designed to lock out access to the programming-debugging interface and block unauthorised attempts to read, modify or erase firmware”, according to Microchip. The ...

Alif Semiconductor’s 32bit ‘Ensemble’ AI-enabled MCUs are now available, according to the company. Built around various Arm cores with added security to protect stored intellectual property, they are intended to run AI algorithms locally in battery-powered devices. “There are many Edge ML applications that require 50 to 250Gop/s to become useful,” said Alif marketing v-p Mark Rootz. “Typical 32bit MCUs ...

There are ways to protect data and digital identity, says Dean Zwarts, but they rely on the security of software and installed systems. Cybercriminals exploit the multiple vulnerabilities in the smart IoT devices in homes. Using smart devices, whether voice-controlled speakers, smart doorbells or light switches, hackers can access entire networks by just connecting to one system; sometimes without requiring ...

Security at the device level can complement existing protocols for smart devices to meets security requirements in the Matter specification, says Rohit Ravichandran. Thread and Wi-Fi protocols provide secure and encrypted wireless communication between devices. The security features of these protocols, however, protect only the transmission channels and the data flowing in them, they do not protect the end devices ...

To defend against quantum computer based hacking, Infineon and partners have revealed an electronic passport demonstrator that meets the security requirements of the quantum computing era, claims Infineon. “Today we are launching the encryption procedures which will be needed to repel quantum computer attacks of tomorrow,” said company head of identification products Maurizio Skerlj. “Working together with our collaboration partners ...

AMD has released more information on its Ryzen 6000 Pro series of processors for laptops, with eight 6nm ‘Zen 3+’ cores and RDNA 2 graphics. Much of the announcement was around increased performance and longer battery life when running Microsoft office and videoconferencing software, but there was also significant emphasis on cybersecurity provisions. “We saw new threats emerge as cybercrimes increased ...

Segger has tied up with Renesas to add DLM (device lifecycle management) and Trustzone partitioning during mass production for Renesas’ Arm Cortex-M33 based RA4 and RA6 microcontrollers. The new features are additions to Segger’s ‘Flasher’ line of in-circuit programmers, and are available to owners of existing Flashers as a software update with “no charge, no license cost and no hidden ...

NXP has combined NFC, secure authentication, anti-tamper and a sensor interface into a single battery-free chip family called NTAG 22x. The parts are aimed high-volume tagging applications, for example: authenticating retail products or protecting them from tampering, or battery-free environment sensing. They include ISO/IEC 14443-A communication and function as an NFC Forum Type 2 tag, and include AES-128 cryptography and CC EAL3+ ...

Renesas is focussing on comms with the RA6M5 group of microcontrollers. “RA6M5 Group MCUs offer numerous communication interface options, including CAN FD, Ethernet MAC with DMA, USB Full Speed and High Speed, and multiple serial interfaces. This gives designers of IoT systems unmatched flexibility in sharing critical data,” according to distributor Anglia, which is stocking the parts. The new devices ...