CryptoAuthentication FAQs

1 2014 Atmel Corporation

 Atmel CryptoAuthentication FAQs
Click on the question to jump to the specific answer.

1. I have AES cryptography already, why do I need more?

2. Does Atmel have the highest security rankings (SHA, AES, RSA,
ECC)?
3. Why would I want symmetric algorithms like AES and SHA if the
key only needs to be broken once?
4. How can I justify the additional cost of security in every product?
5. How do I protect the bus between the crypto device and the
microprocessor?
6. How do you encrypt with a one way algorithm like SHA?
7. Is it true that my system isnt secure unless I use a secure micro?
8. How do I protect my valuable software IP?
9. Is there licensing involved with using Atmel devices?
10.Why should I use Atmel chips?

2 2014 Atmel Corporation Security at our Core

 1. I have AES cryptography already, so why do I need
anything more? If I am encrypting, isnt that all the
security I need?
AES is an algorithm that scrambles (i.e. encrypts) information. The
scrambled information can then be transferred somewhere else or stored in
encrypted form and will remain unusable until it is unscrambled (decrypted)
into its original form.

AES requires a key to encrypt and the same key to decrypt. Both the
transmitter of the encrypted information and the receiver of it must store
that key and keep that key secret on both sides. If the key is not kept
secret on either side then the information can be obtained by unintended
outside parties, which defeats the whole purpose. So, securely storing the
key is one of the most critical parts of security. The memory where the key
is stored must be able to withstand attacks that try to read the key(s).

Hardware security devices, like Atmels CryptoAuthentication devices, offer

a method of protecting secret keys that restrict access and provide key
generation and management. Hardware security is much stronger then
software based security because of the defense mechanisms that are on
hardware security devices that repel attacks of various types.

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 2. I have heard that security has rankings, and that
they rank something like this: 1) SHA, 2) AES, 3)
RSA, 4) ECC. Does Atmel have the highest ranking?
In essence, security is a function of two main critical factors:
1) The length of the key used by the cryptographic algorithms
2) The mathematical operations that are employed by the cryptographic algorithms.

The strength of security, therefore, depends on both the key size and the
specific algorithms employed. So, any of these algorithms might be stronger
or weaker than any other. Among most cryptographic experts, the following
key sizes are considered to be approximately similar in strength: SHA-256,
AES-128, RSA-3072 and ECC-256. The letters depict the algorithm (e.g.
SHA) and the numbers after the dash represent the length of the key (e.g. -
256).

These important industry standard algorithms are all used in different ways
depending on the application, and many cryptographic systems even use
several types of algorithms together to optimize the benefits of each for
higher security and operational efficiencies (such as speed).

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 3. Symmetric algorithms like AES and SHA use a single
key for all products (e.g. the host and the clients),
so if the key is broken once, it would then be
broken everywhere. Why would I want that?

The secret to understanding cryptography is that operations always depend on keeping

secrets (literally), and that means keeping the secret keys secret. Secure storage of
the secrets (i.e. keys) is what maintains a systems integrity regardless of the
algorithm.

Fortunately, because of clever cryptographic engineering it is not necessary for all

systems using symmetric algorithms to store the exact same key, even though this
may sound counter-intuitive. Using a technique called key diversification each client
in the system can store a unique key that is derived from its unique serial number and
the key in the host (i.e. the root key). During the authentication process with
diversified keys the client sends the host the clients diversified key and the its unique
serial number. The host can then derive the root key from that serial number and that
diversified key and compare that derived root key to the hosts stored root key. If the
stored and derived root keys match then the host knows that the client is real (i.e.
authenticated).

Regardless of the algorithm type, crypto protocol, or system architecture, the best
solution is to prevent the break in the first place by using high security hardware key
storage.

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 4. How can I justify the cost of an additional device to
put security in every system I produce?

Adding security into a system is similar to buying insurance. The cost of a

security breach is analogous to the cost of an accident, fire, earthquake, or
worse. The small cost of adding a crypto device ensures that future
catastrophic costs are not encountered.

Some of the benefits of adding a crypto device are as follows:

Increase revenue that can be lost due to the sale of unauthorized products (e.g.
clones).
Improve revenue by preventing authorized subcontractors from using
unauthorized sales channels (i.e. selling clones in the gray market).
Minimize the cost of warranty support for non-authentic (i.e. cloned) products.
Enforce product and manufacturing licensing agreements to gain royalty income
as agreed to.
Increase product family revenue by allowing only authorized accessories to
operate on an OEMs system.
Conform to regulatory requirements such as HIPAA for medical information
privacy in the US, cross-border medical authentication recommendations in
Europe, and new FDA recommendations in the US for wireless medical device
authentication.

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 5. How do I protect the bus between the crypto device
and microprocessor?

The question often comes up about how to ensure that the communication
between the crypto device and the host MCU is not attacked by a man-in-
the-middle. In order to prevent a hacker from manipulating the bus
between the two chips, the Authentication OK signal (i.e. the Boolean
response) can be uniquely encrypted by the crypto IC.

One way to secure the bus between the crypto IC and MCU is to perform an
authentication on the result of crypto calculation on crypto device (this is
called the CheckMAC function). The idea is to make sure that when the
authentication (i.e. crypto) device puts out the Boolean response (which
means True or False, or one or zero) from the Check MAC operation that
the response cannot be tampered with.

The following paragraph explains in detail how that is done on a technical

basis. However, the simple point here is that the Atmels
CryptoAuthentication devices contain a built-in mechanism to prevent an
attack on the bus between the device and the MCU by effectively encrypting
that communication. (see next page)

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 5. How do I protect the bus between the crypto device
and microprocessor? (cont)

All the Atmel devices have a method of protecting the single Boolean bit
that comes from the authentication chip to the microprocessor. It involves
using the second key that is both stored in the CryptoAuthetication device
and compiled into the code. After the successful completion of the
CheckMAC operation, the second secret is copied into the TempKey
register. Then the MCU sends over a unique number (for example, time of
day), which is then combined with that second secret using SHA and
returned to the MCU.

The software on the MCU does the same combination using the compiled
secret to see if it agrees with the result from the authentication device. This
is beneficial, because it means that you cannot just put a simple switch in
the wire between the two and always send a 1 (i.e. True).

The Atmel cryptographic ICs can also be set up to implement a secure boot
with any MCU. In this mode the devices confirm the authenticity of
downloaded code.

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 6. How can you encrypt with a one way algorithm like
SHA, and isnt XOR weak?

Many encryption algorithms like DES and AES use the XOR function as a key part
of their implementation. Those algorithms use a secret key to produce code that
is XORed with the data in order to encrypt or decrypt that data. The secrecy of
the encrypted data depends upon how well the crypto algorithm mathematically
scrambles that code, and not upon the strength of the XOR function itself.

Hash algorithm-based devices (such as the ATSHA204) use the SHA256

algorithm in the same way to implement an encrypted transport of data between
the crypto device and a microprocessor.

During an encrypted read operation the crypto device uses a random number
that is hashed with an internal secret (i.e. the secret key) to create a result (i.e.
a hash value or digest). That hash value (i.e. digest) is then XORed with the
value to be sent out of the device. (In other words, to encrypt the plaintext, the
plaintext is XORed with the hash of the secret key and a random number.) When
that encrypted data is received outside of the crypto device, the receiver will
need to know the secret (i.e. secret key) that was used in order for that receiver
to reproduce the devices internal value that he or she will XOR with the received
encrypted data to mathematically reconstruct the plaintext. (see next page)

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 6. How can you encrypt with a one way algorithm like
SHA, and isnt XOR weak? (cont)

Similarly, on an encrypted write operation the chip inserts data based on

the XOR of the internal calculated result. The encrypted data sent to the
device should be calculated using the same internal secrets or the chip will
not contain the expected value.

Since a completely new random number is created for each and every
encrypted transport, and because the hash of that random number with the
secret key is used as the XOR code, then breaking such an encrypted
transport would require actually breaking the SHA-256 algorithm itself or
obtaining the secret key.

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 7. I have heard that my system isnt secure unless I
use a secure micro, is that true?

Secure Microprocessors are a great solution if your entire system can be

implemented inside the provided resources of the secure micro and the cost
point of the product is appropriate for the system.

For todays high performance systems, high-end microprocessors with

external expandability or special purpose hardware are required for most
solutions. So, secure microprocessors are typically used as a separate
companion device to the system MCU. The security challenges then
becomes two-fold: 1) Coupling the secure micro with the unsecure
operations of the high performance MCU, and 2) Protecting the bus between
the two.

The best choice today to address those two issues is using a specialized
crypto device (like Atmels CryptoAuthentication) or a secure micro. One
very important point is that a secure device is only as good as the
protection of the stored secrets (i.e. keys) in a specialized crypto key
storage device or in a secure MCU. (see next page)

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 7. I have heard that my system isnt secure unless I
use a secure micro, is that true?

Special purpose Cryptographic IC devices (like CryptoAthentication) focus

solely on secure authentication and key storage, and as a result they can be
the more cost effective choice, and often far more secure.

The security functionality of a dedicated hardware authentication device is

carefully tested and verified by the manufacturer (e.g. Atmel), so the
system designer does not need to worry about bugs that could be exploited
by attackers. In addition, with a hardware approach, the system designer
does not need to be concerned about future software updates of the
software-based solution that can later expose a security weakness.

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 8. How do I protect my valuable software IP?

The only way to fully protect the system software is to use a secure (i.e. smart card
based) microcontroller and store the entire system code within the device. In that way
it cannot be read, copied, or modified by an attacker. However, due to cost and other
concerns, this will not be an acceptable solution for most systems. On the other hand,
a specialized cryptographic authentication IC can provide excellent protection at a low
cost.

In order to stop others from copying the system firmware and producing duplicate
products (i.e. clones), a crypto IC can be employed to match the firmware to
legitimate products. Authorizing firmware can be done by sending challenges to the
cryptographic IC regularly during normal operation and then checking for the correct
response. If a system is build doesnt include a correctly programmed crypto IC, the
firmware will fail to operate, thus protecting against cloning.

If, in the above scheme, the firmware is updated on a regular basis and new challenge-
responses are incorporated into the system, it becomes very difficult for a hacker to
analyze the firmware and remove the authorization checks. If a remote connection is
available, implementing some of the challenges randomly from a trusted backend
server can make this nearly foolproof. (see next page)

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 8. How do I protect my valuable software IP?

Processors like the Atmel ARM9 devices include an on-chip boot ROM. This
ROM can be programmed to use a crypto IC to check a firmware signature
stored in the external flash prior to executing that program. If unauthorized
modifications have been made to the operating program, it will be
immediately detected and system operations can be interrupted.

When system architects are looking to protect sensitive algorithm, data, or

protocols, the same secure boot methodology can be used to decrypt the
encrypted program module stored in the external flash. The decryption key
can be stored in the crypto IC since there is often no secure storage in the
system processor.

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 9. Is there licensing involved with using the Atmel
devices?

The cryptographic algorithms used inside Atmel Crypto devices are industry-
standard and approved algorithms that do not require paying a license fee
to Atmel or any third party.

In addition, Atmel offers communication layer source code free of charge for
users to employ in any way without royalty.

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 10. Why should I choose Atmel CryptoAuthentication
chips for my next design?

Atmel chips are designed from the ground up to provide an ultra-high level
of hardware security. Atmel is now beyond the third generation of devices
that contain years of high security device making experience and know-
how. Some of the benefits that accrue to the Atmel devices are noted
below:

Atmel uses proprietary test methods to eliminate test and probe access
points

Other chips use standard layout methods, but Atmel implements a

serpentine active metal shield over the entire device preventing probing of
internal secret nodes by providing a physical barrier and by detecting and
acting upon attempted attacks.

Atmel chips use the SHA-256 and ECC algorithms to ensure a long system
life. CRC based systems cannot stand up to modern cryptanalysis and SHA-
1 is no longer recommended for new system use by the US government.
(see next page)

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 10. Why should I choose Atmel CryptoAuthentication
chips for my next design?

Few authentication chips include a random number generator, forcing the

system to use weak methods to prevent replay attacks. Atmel devices
include a multi-level FIPs level random number generator on-chip for the
highest quality output.

Atmel takes great care to analyze all possible input conditions to ensure
that faulty or aggressive input sequences will never result in the loss of
secret data.

Many companies have the ability to design a straightforward digital device.

But Atmel includes environmental tampers to prevent operation outside the
specification range, encrypts internal busses to prevent emissions attacks,
controls timing to prevent timing attacks, uses an internal clock generator
to prevent over-clocking, and provides many other security features.

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 Security at our Core

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www.atmel.com/security

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 2014 Atmel Corporation.

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