(Hsinchu Taiwan, June 8th, 2021) eMemory, the world’s leading supplier of intellectual property for NVM and security solutions at the semiconductor level, and its subsidiary, PUFsecurity, today announced a partnership agreement with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to enable furthering of accelerated technology innovation for the agency’s programs.
The agreement makes eMemory’s NeoFuse, NeoPUF and the advanced, integrated PUF-based security IP of its subsidiary, PUFsecurity, especially in advanced semiconductor process nodes, available to the researchers behind DARPA programs. They can now avail themselves of the integration of PUF, OTP, trng and other essentials found in PUFsecurity’s flagship security solutions which have been proven popular with chip designers, and are likewise well suited for the mission-critical applications and conditions often faced by DARPA’s researchers. Designers will find integration of anti-tampered Root of Trust to be fast and easy.
eMemory’s patented PUF (Physical Unclonable Function) technology uses micro variations and characteristics produced during the fabrication of a chip to create an inherent fingerprint. Like human fingerprints, each PUF is unique and cannot be simulated, copied or changed. eMemory’s PUF is an ideal form of reliable identification that has been widely used for a root of trust, generation of secret keys, digital signatures and other security applications.
With NeoPUF and PUF-based solutions, chip designers can generate truly random sequences for applications with high security requirements. Inherent radiation hardness and superior hamming weight and hamming distance without the need for pre- and post-processing, add to the attributes.
In addition to PUF solutions, eMemory’s NeoFuse will be included in this program. eMemory’s NeoFuse is a small-form factor non-volatile memory technology with the advantages of low-power operation, high reliability and strong security.
“This latest partnership agreement with DARPA adds to the increasing global recognition of our security solutions,” said Rick Shen, President at eMemory. “We anticipate that more companies and organizations will adopt chip-level security as the strongest safeguard of electronic systems at this time when cybersecurity issues continue unabated worldwide.”
The DARPA Toolbox initiative is an agency-wide effort to provide open licensing opportunities with commercial technology vendors to the researchers behind DARPA programs. Through DARPA Toolbox, defense contractors will receive greater access to commercial vendors’ technologies and tools via pre-negotiated, low-cost, non-production access frameworks and simplified legal terms. For commercial vendors, DARPA Toolbox will provide an opportunity to leverage the agency’s forward-looking research and a chance to develop new revenue streams based on programmatic achievements developed with their technologies.
“With eMemory joining DARPA’s Toolbox Initiative we are adding OTP (one time programmable) memories and unique identity enabling PUF (physical unclonable function)- related security solution IP’s.” said Serge Leef, Program Manager, leading DARPA Toolbox. “Our researchers can use these IPs to accelerate development for their projects.”
eMemory is among a select group of technology companies that have engaged in partnership under DARPA Toolbox.
熵碼科技與力旺電子合作開發全方位硬體安全解決方案
(台灣新竹,2021年6月17日) 台灣硬體安全IP供應商熵碼科技聯手其母公司力旺電子，憑藉硬體安全IP技術獲得DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)認可，旗下多項產品獲DARPA 採用列入Toolbox 供應鏈，未來將進一步參與DARPA推動之多項安全架構發展計劃。
力旺電子所研發之NeoFuse (One-Time Programmable Memory; OTP) 和NeoPUF (Physical Unclonable Function; PUF) 乃硬體安全儲存及產生密鑰所需之基石。而熵碼科技利用力旺電子之OTP及PUF開發硬體安全信任根PUFrt以及硬體安全處理器PUFiot，在硬體安全最重要的關鍵技術上跨出創新的一步。
熵碼科技不斷拓展、創新PUF應用，利用此獨特且不可複製的「晶片指紋」技術，開發出兼具原生硬體指紋PUF、安全存儲OTP、高品質tRNG（真亂數產生器）、方便系統整合的控制器與系統接口 (APB)、與全方位的防竄改設計硬體安全信任根IP –PUFrt，為市場帶來易整合、性價比高的硬體安全方案選擇。PUFiot則是在硬體安全信任根技術上納入加密演算法協助客戶加速設計整合，可搭配CPU核 (如RISC-V)，扮演安全協同處理器角色來執行應用程式所需安全功能，實現全方位的安全中央處理器。
DARPA主要負責開發用於國防應用之新技術，其負責的專案分別由七個辦公室來執行，近幾年持續推動硬體安全（Hardware security）的計畫即由其中Microsystem Technology Office (MTO)負責執行，相關計畫如下：
- Supply Chain Integrity for Electronics Defense (SHIELD)
旨在建立安全供應鏈，防止盜版晶片或是未經認證的晶片進入硬體系統設備。 - System Security Integration Through Hardware and Firmware (SSITH)
目標為開發硬體的安全架構並結合軟體以提升系統整體安全，防止駭客從遠端破壞。同時亦開發評估工具來測試所提的硬體安全架構是否有效。 - Automatic Implementation of Secure Silicon (AISS)
主要任務為開發EDA tool，目標在設計階段即能檢視可能被駭的SoC設計漏洞（如植入木馬或是錯誤訊號）並考量防禦對策。 - Asset Management Infrastructure (AMI)
旨在產品生命週期安全管理（Product lifecycle security management）的開發，結合區塊鏈技術來達到管理密鑰、簽章、認證安全政策以及資料追蹤，來確保晶片在整個產品生命週期內的安全。
熵碼科技和力旺電子的OTP、PUF、PUFrt（硬體安全信任根）及PUFiot（硬體安全處理器）等創新IP能強化智慧連網世代所需的硬體安全架構、實現整合解決方案，協助客戶提升產品防偽能力(anti-counterfeit)、防止超量生產(anti-overproduction) 以及強化整體生命週期中的安全管理，因而受DARPA肯定。未來將進一步參與DARPA推動之安全架構發展計劃，包括供應鏈的安全 （SHIELD Program）、硬體安全的新架構（SSITH/AISS Program）、資產管理架構 （AMI Program）等。