Broadcom’s New Family of Secure Applications Processors Holds the Key to Preventing Data Theft and Identity Fr

Broadcom’s New Family of Secure Applications Processors Holds the Key to Preventing Data Theft and Identity Fraud

Hardware-Based Security Provides a More Secure Computing and Transactional Processing Environment versus Software-Centric Approaches

IRVINE, Calif., Dec 08, 2008 — Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced a new family of secure applications processors, including the world’s first secure processor to integrate Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The new product family is designed for laptop/desktop computers, point-of-sale (POS) terminals and consumer electronic (CE) devices, protecting against corporate data loss, unauthorized network access, personal identity theft and credit card fraud. In an age of ever-increasing security threats, Broadcom’s family of secure applications processors delivers better protection of personal information or sensitive corporate data by enabling higher levels of security in computing hardware.

In 2007, the average loss from a data breach was $6.3 million (per incident), an increase of 31% from the previous year.(1) As a result, IT managers must deploy and enforce security policies across the enterprise to determine which data can be accessed, as well as credentials to prove that one is authorized to access the requested data. Similarly, in consumer applications, identity protection is of utmost importance since the theft of personal information continues to rise as evidenced by the Federal Trade Commission’s 2006 report on national identity theft trends, which revealed 8.3 million adult Americans were victims of identity theft. Given these trends, a more robust security infrastructure is required for computing platforms, POS terminals, consumer devices, etc.

To date, many security solutions have been software-based, as this has been the simplest and fastest way to meet the disparate security demands across various platforms and products. However, software is inherently less secure than hardware, and it can slow down a computer’s performance, which impacts productivity and places a burden on the end user. Implementing hardware security provides more robust and secure computing solutions while significantly improving the end user experience.

To address these security problems, the company announced a new family of secure applications processors consisting of the Broadcom BCM5880 and BCM5892. This family of secure applications processors provides an isolated processing environment that is separate from the primary/host system. Its architecture integrates an on-chip “vault” to house credentials and process all secure transactions rather than run secure applications on the main system processor, which is exposed (and a high risk) to tampering and theft.

“Whether it’s enterprise or consumer applications, the challenge is putting security measures in place that protect data, are easily managed and do not hinder end user productivity. If a security solution becomes too complex and burdensome, users simply will not use it,” said Joseph Wallace, Senior Director of Broadcom’s Security Processor line of business. “Our new family of secure applications processors provides high levels of integration, coupled with a secure architecture, to deliver security solutions optimized for the PC and point-of-sale markets.”

BCM5880 Product Information

The Broadcom BCM5880 secure applications processor combines platform identification, personal identification and data protection in a single chip and includes an integrated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 device, as well as the credential “vault” capability. It also integrates many of the authentication applications available today, such as one-time-password (OTP), fingerprint readers, smart cards, and contactless readers, into silicon, where they all can be centrally managed and utilized as part of multi-factor authentication policies.

Since today’s standard PC platforms rely heavily on software-based security solutions, they require credentials and sensitive data to be processed on the system’s main microprocessor and operating system (OS). During this process, the credentials and other secure data are exposed in the system’s host memory, making them vulnerable to attacks from security threats such as malware, hackers, etc. The Broadcom BCM5880 performs critical functions on-chip and in a location isolated from the main microprocessor and OS so it can store and process sensitive information (like passwords and unique hardware IDs) entirely within the chip’s security boundary. This approach in handling sensitive data keeps the PC system more secure and allows it to be centrally managed and easily used by system administrators.

BCM5892 Product Information

The Broadcom BCM5892 secure applications processor combines multimedia, networking and security capabilities to provide a cost effective, single-chip solution for applications that include POS, consumer electronics devices and peripherals. The BCM5892’s high level of integration enables a significantly more robust and cost effective solution for these applications and integrates Broadcom’s secure on-chip “vault” along with audio and video processing, a memory controller, a smart card interface and numerous communications ports, in a single-chip design. Its unique architecture enables simultaneous support for both general purpose and secure applications, and maintains complete isolation of the secure applications from the rest of the system.

Availability and Pricing

The BCM5880 secure applications processor is in volume production, while the BCM5892 secure applications processor is now sampling to early access customers. Software development kits are available to help speed time-to-market and enable OEMs and third party partners to develop software for these platforms. Pricing is available upon request.