Electronics Weekly Electronics Design & Components Tech News
Safety and cybersecurity are growing concerns in the automotive market. Manufacturers can use authentication to ensure only OEM-certified components are safely connected to vehicle systems, as well as reduce the growing threat of malware attacks.
Secure microcontrollers come with size, cost and time drawbacks though, Maxim says.
The company claims its DS28C40 Deepcover authenticator reduces both system design complexity and associated code development efforts. The authenticator deters theft of high-value components such as front-light modules.
It offers public/private key asymmetric ECDSA (ECC-P256 curve) and other key authentication algorithms built into the IC. The DS28C40 comes in a 4x3mm TDFN package and operates over -40 to 125°C.
The IC features built-in symmetric key secure hash algorithm (SHA-256) support; secure storage of ECDSA and SHA-256 keys; one-time programmable nonvolatile memory for storage of digital certificates and manufacturing data.
Maxim says an industry-standard I²C interface and low software overhead on host side simplifies design integration for the part.
Tanner Johnson, senior IoT and connectivity analyst at IHS Markit, now a part of Informa Tech says “Any standards-based security technology that promises to thwart the use of uncertified components and makes the process more cost effective will draw strong interest from designers.”
Michael Haight, director, embedded security at Maxim Integrated says “Our latest small-footprint authenticator ICs help [engineers] add the most advanced crypto-security available without adding new development teams to write and debug the code that is typically required for microcontroller and software-dependent approaches.”
