SmartMX Secure Microcontrollers Are the First Products to Achieve Certification Under Rigorous DPA Countermeasure Validation Program
NXP Semiconductors, together with Brightsight and Cryptography Research Inc., today announced the certification of several NXP SmartMX secure microcontrollers under the DPA Countermeasure Validation Program. The analysis, conducted by security evaluation firm Brightsight, validates the effectiveness of Differential Power Analysis countermeasures in members of NXP's SmartMX product line.
The DPA Countermeasure Validation Program is a certification program administered by security experts at Cryptography Research, and involves rigorous independent testing of products to evaluate their resistance to side-channel attacks. The testing program's goal is to enable chip purchasers and downstream customers to identify devices with effective security.
"NXP is very excited to show its leadership in the Identification market by being the first semiconductor company to achieve the successful evaluation under the DPA Countermeasure Validation Program of Cryptography Research, Inc.," said Hans-Gerd Albertsen, manager of security & evaluation, business unit identification, NXP Semiconductors. "The results of this stringent evaluation further demonstrate the world-leading security of our SmartMX secure microcontroller products."
NXP will now have the right to display the DPA Security logo in documentation and marketing literature associated with the certified products. Products displaying the logo provide customers with assurance that the device contains DPA countermeasures, which are properly licensed and have been rigorously tested by an independent security testing lab.
"Brightsight is pleased to report a successful evaluation of the NXP SmartMX devices, and looks forward to continuing to support the security evaluation needs of the smart card industry," said Lex Schoonen, senior security evaluator at Brightsight.
DPA is a form of attack that involves monitoring variations in the electrical power consumption of a chip or device, then using statistical methods to derive cryptographic keys and other secrets. Strong countermeasures to DPA are required to protect tamper-resistant products used in banking, pay television, mass transit, secure ID, secure storage, automobiles, consumer electronics, wireless telecommunications and other applications.
About NXP Semiconductors Gmbh
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Nasdaq: NXPI) provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions that leverage its leading RF, Analog, Power Management, Interface, Security and Digital Processing expertise. These innovations are used in a wide range of automotive, identification, wireless infrastructure, lighting, industrial, mobile, consumer and computing applications. Headquartered in Europe, the company has approximately 28,000 employees working in more than 25 countries and posted revenue of USD 3.8 billion in 2009. For more information, visit www.nxp.com
About Brightsight
Brightsight is an independent evaluation laboratory that specializes in security analysis and testing of IT products and systems. The company has more than 20 years of experience in IT security, a large number of international accreditations and expert teams that have a broad range of skills, which include software engineering, electro-technics, physics, chemistry, protocols, general IT and cryptography. Its customers range from financial institutions, telecom operators and the automotive industry to IT product manufacturers and governments. Brightsight is based in Delft in the Netherlands and has 40 employees realizing an annual turnover of EUR 4,5 million.
About Cryptography Research, Inc.
Cryptography Research, Inc. develops and licenses technology to solve complex security problems. In addition to security evaluation and applied engineering work, the company is actively involved in long-term research and technology licensing in areas including content protection, tamper resistance, network security and financial services. Over 4.5 billion security chips are made each year with technology licensed from Cryptography Research, and security systems designed by Cryptography Research engineers protect $100s of billions of dollars of commerce annually for wireless, telecommunications, financial, digital television, entertainment, and Internet industries. For additional information please visit www.cryptography.com.
Contacts:
Cryptography Research, Inc.
EUROPE
Andrew
Lloyd & Associates
Carol Leslie, +44 1273 675100
carol@ala.com
or
UNITED
STATES
Schwartz Communications
Samantha Sok, +1-415-817-2549
ssok@schwartz-pr.com