Zymbit wants to accelerate IoT development

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Get your real-world Internet of Things ideas to market in days, not months. 

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As the next frontier of the Internet approaches, the IoT represents a compelling opportunity across a staggering array of applications. That’s why the team behind Zymbit has developed an end-to-end platform of hardware and software devices that will enable Makers, engineers and developers alike to transform their ideas into real-world products in blistering speed.

In an effort to deliver secure, open and interactive gadgets for our constantly-connected era, Zymbit is hoping that latest set of solutions will help accelerate adoption and interface with our physical world in a more secure, authenticated manner. The company — who we had the chance to meet at CES 2015 and will be on display in our Maker Faire booth — recently unveiled its Zymbit 1 (Z1), which is being billed as the first fully-integrated piece of IoT hardware that provide users with local and remote live data interaction, along with a low-power MCU, battery-backed operation.

“Z1’s motherboards incorporate some of the latest secure silicon from Atmel, providing accelerated processing of standard open security algorithms. A separate supervisor MPU takes care of security, while you take care of your application,” explained Zymbit CTO Alex Kaay.

Based on the Atmel | SMART SAM D21, the Z1 motherboard is electronically robust with enhanced security provided via an ATECC108 crypto engine and an ATWINC1500 Wi-Fi controller — meaning, no additional parts are necessary. Ideal for those developing next-gen IoT projects, the modular board is super customizable and compatible with Atmel Xplained Pro wingboards, Arduino shields, Raspberry Pi B+, as well as ZigBee, cellular and POE options. The Zymbit team has even implemented discretely controlled blocks to simplify coding and to secure remote device management, while advanced power management supports battery, solar and POE operations.

The Z1 integrates all of the key components required to support a generation of global IoT applications. This includes easily transitioning between Arduino, Atmel and Raspberry Pi designs, integrated open software tools for seamless innovation, as well as a choice of wireless communication. For instance, Makers can design and implement their programs using the Zymbit’s Arduino Zero app processor and take advantage of a vast number of Arduino shields. Or, developers can connect their Raspberry Pi to utilize the various Zymbit services via SPI bus, allowing their B+ module to interact with a wide-range of “things.”

The unique Zymbit architecture delivers three key pillars of security: authenticated data source with 72-bit ID serial number, protected data transmission with SHA 256 and private data transmission via a Wi-Fi embedded AES engine. This is accomplished through a dedicated hardware crypto engine that ensures only trusted data is exchanged between devices.

At the heart of Z1’s operation lies a network/Linux CPU, the Atmel | SMART SAMA5D4 MPU, tasked with its secure communication. Meanwhile, its security processes run within a supervisory, ultra low-power Atmel | SMART SAM L21 MCU, separately from its SAM D21 Cortex-M0+ I/O application MCU. This hardware is all housed inside a dynamically-constructed case, which features standard expansions and mounts perfect for any consumer, commercial or industrial applicable IoT product.

Adding to its already impressive list of capabilities, Zymbit comes with a remote manager that makes it easy to connect and manage gizmos both securely and with transparency. This service enables users to SSH to their devices, whether they are on your desk or across the country. Publishing through Zymbit’s Pub/Sub Engine lets developers collect and share data one-to-one or one-to-many, with or without subscriber authentication. As you can imagine, this opens up an assortment of project possibilities, which range from changing Philips Hue color lighting with data streams to monitoring key parameters of a refrigeration system.

“We are providing some standard dashboard widgets that allow you to quickly view your device performance metrics and data-channels. Initially we are supporting time series charting, together with plugin metrics for Raspberry Pi, and Arduino Yún,” the team writes.

Interested in learning more? You can stay up-to-date with the Zymbit team’s progress here, watch our latest interview with one of the company’s co-founders below, and swing by our booth at Maker Faire Bay Area!

The CryptoCape is the BeagleBone’s first dedicated security daughterboard

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The CryptoCape extends the hardware cryptographic abilities of the BeagleBone Black.

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With the insecurity of connected devices called into question time and time again, wouldn’t it be nice to take comfort in knowing that your latest IoT gadget was secure? A facet in which many Makers may overlook, Josh Datko recently sought out to find a better way to safeguard those designs, all without hindering the DIY spirit. The result? The CrytpoCape — which initially debuted on SparkFun last year — is a dedicated security daughterboard for the BeagleBone that easily adds encryption and authentication options to a project.

Generally speaking, cryptography offers a solution to a wide-range of problems such as authentication, confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation, according to Datko. SparkFun notes that the $60 Atmel powered cape adds specialized ICs that perform various cryptographic operations, amplifying a critical hardware security layer to various BeagleBone projects.

The CyrptoCape is packed with hardware, including 256k EEPROM with a defaulted I2C address (plus write protection), a real-time clock (RTC) module, a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for RSA encryption/decryption, an AES-128 encrypted EEPROM, an ATSHA204 CrypoAuthentication chip that performs SHA-256 and HMAC-25 and an Atmel ATECC108 tasked with the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA).

“You will also find an Atmel ATmega328P microcontroller and a large prototyping area available on the board. The ATmega is loaded with the Arduino Pro Mini 3.3V bootloader and has broken out most of the signals to surrounding pads,” its SparkFun page reveals.

Beyond that, each easy-to-use CryptoCape comes with pre-soldered headers making this board ready to be attached to your BeagleBone right out of the box. The only additional item a Maker will need to get the CryptoCape fully-functional is a CR1225 coin-cell battery.

Interested? You can check out the product’s official SparkFun page here. Meanwhile, those looking to learn more should also pick up a copy of Datko’s book entitled “BeagleBone for Secret Agents.” The third chapter of the resource is devoted to the CryptoCape where Makers will learn how to combine a fingerprint sensor, the on-board ATmega328P, and the crypto chips to make a biometric authentication system.

HackADay talks CryptoCape

The CryptoCape – which recently made its debut on SparkFun – is a dedicated security daughterboard for the BeagleBone designed in collaboration with Cryptotronix’s Josh Datko, which features Atmel’s Trusted Platform Module and SHA-256 Authenticator.

HackADay’s Brian Benchoff was lucky enough to catch up with Josh and asked him to break down how the nifty device works.

“If you need to add security to your project or you want to learn more about embedded security the CryptoCape adds encryption and authentication options,” the Maker added.

As its webpage notes, the CryptoCape functions as the BeagleBone’s first dedicated security daughterboard. Known as a BeagleBone Cape, the device attaches to the expansion headers of the BeagleBone and “adds specialized ICs that perform various cryptographic operations which will allow you to add a hardware security layer to your BeagleBone project.”

Previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the CyrptoCape is packed with hardware, including 256k EEPROM with a defaulted I2C address (plus write protection), a real-time clock (RTC) module, a trusted platform module (TPM) for RSA encryption/decryption, an AES-128 encrypted EEPROM, an Atmel ATSHA204 authentication chip that performs SHA-256 and HMAC-25 and an Atmel ATECC108 that performs the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA).

The reasoning behind the developer’s choice to use the SHA-256 Authenticator? “It creates 256-bit keys that can be used in keyed Message Authentication Codes (MACs), or HMAC, to prove the authenticity of the device.” In addition, the authenticator allows the device to “implement an anti-counterfeiting system with the exchange of nonces and MACs between other embedded devices.”

If you are interested in boosting the security of your Maker project or learning more about the CryptoCape, you can head to the product’s official SparkFun page here.