Arm beefs up security for Cortex-M35P
Its latest addition initially targets the new Corex-M35P—the trailing P indicates further security protection. More specifically, it adds features such as tamper resistance to the already existing TrustZone support in the ARMv8-M architecture. The security enclave and cryptographic IP provides protection against side-channel attacks.
As with most of Arm’s IP designs, this allows designers to incorporate the new security features simply by choosing the architectural design that includes them. The Cortex-M35P is one piece; the other two are the CryptoCell-312P and the CryptoIsland-300P. Like the Cortex-M35P, the others offer enhanced security features when compared to their earlier counterparts that have been available to chip designers (see figure).
Not all applications will require the level of security provided by the Cortex-M35P, CryptoCell-312P, and CryptoIsland-300P. The new Cortex-M chips already include encryption that’s part of the TrustZone support, but this has the possibility of being bypassed by physically compromising a chip. The added anti-tampering support addresses this as well as side-channel attacks, such as those that target power-related breaches.
The new security systems will be valuable for a host of application areas, including control systems within cars, to IoT and IIoT solutions that will not have secure facilities to protect them from physical access. The Cortex-M35P will support ISO 26262 certification.
This article first appeared in Electronic Design – www.electronicdesign.com
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