Chip enables faster, more secure connection to the cloud

Securing an intelligent connected device’s communication with cloud services from end to end is a challenge, and one of the biggest problems is the assignment, protection, and management of public decryption keys and certificates for authentication of deployed devices. Microchip’s ECC508 in conjunction with Amazon Web Services (AWS) creates a secure provisioning platform and associated support chip that streamlines the implementation of communications security.

Some of the critical steps in effectively implementing encryption-based security include generating a unique key for each device, protecting the confidentiality of keys throughout the manufacturing chain, ensuring that device end users can readily establish a trustworthy connection to the web server, and protecting the device keys throughout the device’s operating life. Prior solutions to these challenges involved costly equipment and logistics, including the installation of expensive hardware secure modules and use of secure rooms in factories and conducting periodic factory security audits. The ECC508 comes from Microchip with a unique key in each device along with the digitally signed certificates needed for device authentication when establishing a web connection.

But hardware alone does not provide a full security solution, so Microchip also provides services for the monitoring and maintenance of device keys in support of the ECC508. These services include identification of parts that go missing during production or replication of keys, as well as decertification of suspect parts, to help prevent counterfeit products from compromising security or even functioning.