Getting up close and personal with Atmel’s tinyAVR

So Atmel’s tinyAVR tech has been in the news lately, popping up in the Agent smart watch which recently debuted on Kickstarter and the uber-cool ShuttAVR mod for cameras. As previously reported on Bits & Pieces, the Agent smart watch combines the SAM4S and tinyAVR MCUs to provide extended battery life – consuming less than […]

Secure personalization service safeguards your IP

Written by Steve Jarmusz Afraid of having your IP/firmware stolen?  Don’t want unauthorized accessories in the marketplace taking revenue that’s rightfully yours and potentially damaging your brand equity?  Security concerns are serious and worth addressing, but what if you don’t have the expertise in cryptography or infrastructure? Well, one turnkey solution that does not require […]

Achieving a secure lockdown with Atmel’s ATSHA204

Despite its obvious importance, security often takes a backseat when it comes to designing a device or electronic component. Perhaps one of the most shocking examples of security failure in the electronic world was highlighted last year during the Black Hat conference when a hacker demonstrated how he used a simple microcontroller to compromise hotel […]

How to program your secrets into a chip with hardware-based security

Written by Nelson Lunsford Implementing security into your design may seem somewhat daunting and time-/resource-intensive at first glance.  You may be thinking that you don’t have the luxury for it.  Fortunately, Atmel makes it easy when using the turnkey Atmel CryptoAuthentication IC. At its most basic, the CryptoAuthetication device receives a challenge from a host […]

Why Should You Consider Hardware Security on the Host Side?

By: Rocendo Bracamontes Over the last year, I’ve come across many different applications and systems that require security. The majority of them can be categorized as follows:  accessory authentication, consumables, system anti-cloning and session key exchange. Since the ATSHA204, the latest Atmel CryptoAuthentication™ device, uses a symmetric algorithm, the system where the security is implemented […]

Using the ATSHA204 for Firmware IP Protection

By: Ronnie Thomas Read almost any major newspaper and you will see companies world-wide that have lost money due to theft of their intellectual property in the form of proprietary software or embedded firmware. The Atmel ATSHA204 CryptoAuthentication device is a great product to protect intellectual property by providing an inexpensive solution to protect software. […]

A Turnkey Security Solution for Accessories Authentication = $$$ in Your Pocket

By: Steve Jarmusz An accessory could be really anything that works with a host or base system.  It could be a power charger, pair of speakers, cable, or as I mentioned, anything.   There are number of reasons why you would want to authenticate your accessories, to guard them against cloning and counterfeiting.  You may want […]

What can a hardware security chip do for you?

By: Maurice Jackson When you embark on your next design, you should seriously consider what, in your design, is valuable—and, therefore, vulnerable to security breaches by thieves or hackers.   Make a list, check it twice, and I am certain that the Atmel CryptoAuthentication™ family of high-security hardware authentication devices can help.  The devices offer a […]

A Deep Dive Into the Unique Challenge Authentication Model

By: Nelson Lunsford Let’s take a closer look at the unique challenge authentication model, using an Atmel CryptoAuthentication IC, for protecting your design’s intellectual property (IP). At its most basic, the Atmel ATSHA204 CryptoAuthentication IC receives a challenge from a host system and a response is sent back to that host system. That challenge is […]

Securing Your Design with the Fixed Challenge Authentication Model

By: James Tomasetta Fixed challenge authentication is an easy way to add security to your product without the added expense of additional hardware to the host or client, interactive testing, or extensive software development. Fixed challenge authentication is the only authentication model that does not require a key or calculation on either the host or […]