ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Nov. 15, 2013 -- Microsemi Corporation(Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, announced it has released EnforcIT® Security Monitor, an advanced security IP block providing additional layers of user-configurable tamper protection and responses to the most secure and lowest power FPGA product families on the market—Microsemi's SmartFusion®2 SoC FPGAs and IGLOO®2 FPGAs.
With EnforcIT Security Monitor, SmartFusion2 and IGLOO2 devices can be easily configured to interface with hardware security mechanisms built into the silicon of these FPGAs. When configured for reporting, EnforcIT Security Monitor can report to the FPGA a variety of internal security flags and system conditions. When configured to act autonomously, EnforcIT Security Monitor can respond to malicious FPGA threats and take action, mitigating further attack by protecting or destroying critical data and design.
"Security, reliability and performance are all critical considerations in building an effective system," said Michael Mehlberg, vice president of product management and sales at Microsemi. "Our EnforcIT Security Monitor will allow our customers to easily strike a balance between these important considerations while providing advanced monitoring, reporting and response against sophisticated FPGA attacks."
EnforcIT Security Monitor is a single, low-resource soft IP block capable of monitoring and responding to an assortment of internal security flags and system conditions. Taking full advantage of the tamper detectors and responses built into the FPGA silicon, it can be configured to report threats, act autonomously or some combination of the two allowing the user to find the right balance between security, performance and safety. Microsemi's EnforcIT Security Monitor can also be used as part of the layered solution in NSAs Commercial Solutions for Classified Program. Specific features include:
- Seamlessly interfaces with Microsemi SmartFusion2 SoC FPGAs and IGLOO2 FPGAs, the most secure and lowest power FPGAs on the market;
- Configurable alarm actions including zeroize, lockdown, chip reset and more;
- Safety controls permitting the user to delay or cancel automatic responses;
- Customizable clock, JTAG and timeout monitoring;
- Logic integrity and fault detection; and
- Runtime IP version reporting.
EnforcIT Security Monitor is released as a single component—an IP block in encrypted source form. Provided with this IP block is world-class technical support and comprehensive documentation describing the use and configuration of the product along with best practices. Customers interested in evaluating or purchasing EnforcIT Security Monitor can contact their local Microsemi sales representative for more information or email sales.support@microsemi.com and reference "EnforcIT Security Monitor" in the subject line.
About EnforcIT Security Monitor
EnforcIT Security Monitor provides simple, configurable, multi-layered security to Microsemi's SmartFusion2 SoC FPGAs and IGLOO2 FPGAs. Building on top of the most advanced FPGA security on the market, EnforcIT Security Monitor allows the end-user to configure additional layers of tamper protections and tamper response penalties through a single soft IP block.
The EnforcIT Security Monitor IP block is made up of a JTAG monitoring core, a clock frequency monitor core, a system heartbeat and a watchdog timer, all working together to ensure the FPGA is not under attack. Each of these four components can emit individual tamper responses. Under tamper, the user can configure various responses up to and including device zeroization.
EnforcIT Security Monitor was built using nearly a decade of FPGA protection development experience. Each component in EnforcIT Security Monitor can be independently configured for tamper monitoring and customized for response. The entire IP block utilizes less than 5 percent of Microsemi's SmartFusion2 FPGA in a typical configuration and is easily customized by the end-user, minimizing impact to development schedules without compromising on security or performance. This and other Microsemi cryptography, software and hardware products including WhiteboxCRYPTO™ and EnforcIT are built in the U.S. in one of Microsemi's trusted facilities.
About Microsemi's Security Solutions
Microsemi's security portfolio includes FPGAs, SoCs, cryptography solutions, encrypted solid state drives (SSDs), intellectual property and firmware. The company also offers a comprehensive suite of security-related services, as well as design, assembly, packaging and testing services.
Microsemi's maintains a DMEA accredited facility in Phoenix, Ariz. for assembly and test and a U.S. only facility in West Lafayette, Ind. for systems security engineering. Its quality and inspection system requirements are certified to MIL-PRF-38534 Class H and K, MIL-PRF-38535 Class Q, ISO 9001:2008 and AS9100. For more information call 765-775-1004.
About Microsemi
Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system solutions for communications, defense & security, aerospace and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., and has approximately 3,000 employees globally. Learn more at www.microsemi.com.
