Renesas‘ RX Security Solutions Provide A Unique Hardware Technology, Implementing Robust IoT Security Easily

PublishTime： 2021-03-11 Article Source：Renesas

The growth in the market for IoT devices is increasing rapidly, and it is said that the CAGR (2018 - 2025) will continue to grow at a very high rate of about 30%, especially in the industrial sector. On the other hand, threats that attempt to exploit the network are also on the rise. Piggybacking on the coronavirus disaster, cyberattacks on network devices including IoT devices, are said to have increased by 260% from January to September 2020 compared to the same period in the previous year. Examples of cyberattacks include the following:

· Software vulnerabilities were exploited on nearly 100,000 IoT devices, with encryption keys stolen, devices being used as a springboard, and simultaneous DDoS attacks being launched on major DNS servers, making internet services unusable.

· In medical institutions, the IoT devices monitoring fetuses were hacked, slowing down the response of the devices.

The damage caused by these attacks was not just from the actual attack, but also damage to the brand images of manufacturers selling IoT devices.

Due to these situations, there is a movement around the world to formulate IoT device security guidelines. In Japan, there is the Ministerial Ordinance on the Security of IoT Devices which has been in effect since April 2020, and in California, USA, an IoT Security Law has been in effect since January 2020. Security measures are becoming essential for IoT devices.

In light of this, what security measures are needed for IoT devices? The risk of a third-party attack cannot be zero as long as there is a network connection. In order to mitigate these risks, security needs to be deployed, especially in the IoT devices that are the endpoints, and Renesas' RX security solutions make it easy to deploy strong security, contributing to the early development of safe and secure IoT devices.

The RX security solutions provide a unique hardware technology, Trusted Secure IP (TSIP), which stores key data and includes a monitoring circuit to protect against unauthorized access, resulting in very strong key management compared to a typical general-purpose microcontroller. Key data plays an important part in encryption and decryption. In a manner, it is like a PIN for a cash or debit card. Just like your PIN makes it secure, and you don't have to worry about stolen cards by themselves, RX security solutions are safe because even if your software has bugs or vulnerabilities, your most important key data is protected in the TSIP.

Figure 1: Strong Protection on IoT Endpoints with RX Security Solution

· TSIP exclusive driver: Many APIs are provided, and the encryption/decryption operation is performed easily

· Renesas Secure Flash Programmer: A tool for encrypting keys and programs

· Secure Boot Program

· Secure Firmware Update Program

· Development Kit

RX Security Solution: Usage Case

1. Smart Meters

Smart meters require security features in order to protect billing information and personal information. In conventional general-purpose microcontrollers, important key data has been stored in an internal ROM, so there was a risk of theft of key data theft as well as information leakage. RX's strong TSIP key management ensures secure key access and regular key updates that meet the customer's security requirements.

Figure 2: Features of RX MCU with Trusted Secure IP

2. Electronic Locking Systems

This is an example developed using the “Communication Security Evaluation Kit,” which is one of the RX security solutions for electronic locking systems. Although electronic locks require firmware updates to ensure security and had high development hurdles for customers, Renesas' secure firmware update program was a great way to contribute to early development, and customers were also very pleased.

Figure 3: Development Kit and Software

The need for security is increasing. On the other hand, there are barriers to the introduction of security such as the following:

· How to introduce security?

· There are insufficient resources to implement the security.

RX security solutions include dedicated drivers, applications, sample programs, and evaluation kits to address these challenges.

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