Chip Security Becomes a Hot Topic in the Electronics Supply Chain

AspenCore Media has taken a deep dive into the question of Where Security Meets Privacy in the 21st Century. This Special Project delves in to security technology and how it's applied in product design and in the supply chain; the issue of data privacy in the digital age; and the increasing vulnerability of networked devices.

For electronics OEMs, ensuring the semiconductors they use include security capabilities is becoming a priority as the sophistication of cybercriminals increases. It’s important to think about security as early in the design process possible.

“Security is much more than just chip level security, it’s about practices,” said Xavier Bignalet, security product marketing manager, Microchip Technology. “Security is as strong as its weakest link and humans are just that.”

Rather than securing an entire system, chip makers are building in security at the chip level. “One of the main concerns of OEMs is maintaining the integrity and security of their products,” said Steve Hanna, co-chair of the Embedded Systems Work Group in the Trusted Computing Group (TCG), an industry consortium hoping to create open standards for cybersecurity in systems. “They also want to be able to battle those trying to counterfeit their products. Even greater than the counterfeit risk, though, which you can manage, is the risk of hacking which is potentially catastrophic.”

A hacked device has the potential to cost an OEM more than its reputation, and the ubiquitous nature of the Internet of Things (IoT) has made hacking devices both easier and more lucrative. “The IoT trend is spreading,” said Hanna. “Everything that has power will have CPU, memory, network connection and it's going to be talking to some sort of other system. Therefore, it’s all exposed to attacks.”

For example, Brickerbot malware conducts a Permanent Denial-of-Service (PDoS) attack that turns connected equipment into dead “bricks.” The malware's creator wanted to make a point about the level of vulnerability that exists. “That’s no consolation for the consumer who finds their security camera or door lock unusable and no consolation for the OEM that has to replace tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of devices that have been bricked," said Hanna. "For them, it’s a nightmare scenario. Ultimately, you need to build security measures at the design stage.”

To that end, the TCG created a standard for chips called the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) about 15 years ago and now a dozen semiconductor vendors make chips that leverage the standard to securely store artifacts used to authenticate the platform. “Because it is a standard, you have a competitive marketplace, and customers can choose from a variety of vendors,” said Hanna. “Often with security chips, everyone has a flavor and there’s a lack of compatibility between solutions and switching vendors is difficult.”

Today, TPM chips have near perfect compatibility across vendors down to the pin-out level, Hanna said. “TPM or other standards give you fundamental capabilities that you can’t get other ways,” he added. Today, TPM chips are included in every Windows-based PC and many Linux-based computers.

security, chip, supply chain As part of integrating security at the chip level, semiconductor makers and OEMs should ensure that security review is embedded in the product design process. “It’s very important to have an independent party review security design and implementation,” said Hanna, adding that this type of review is required for TPM certification. “There are people who specialize in finding vulnerabilities and showing how to fix them called red teams. This kind of approach can help OEMs find problems before they get into the field.”

For electronics distributors or contract manufacturers, this type of system testing might be a potential new service offering. Any device or system connecting to the internet for software updates, for example, needs a higher level of security. OEMs would benefit from help from a distributor that understood chip security. Further, distributors may offer identity provisioning for security chips, said Hanna.

“OEMs often want to put their corporate identity into the security chip to identify if it is legitimate or an imposter, in order to detect authenticity,” he added. “Adding that identity to chips is a complex thing and often needs a trusted third party to load the identity and a uniquely identified serial number into the chip.”

Market education will be another important role for distributors and CMs. “They need to educate themselves and train themselves on how to implement all basic security practices,” said Microchip’s Bignalet. “They will have a strong role in educating the mass market and packaging the relevant technologies from semiconductor providers to address all the basic -- not best -- practices.”

Security in the supply chain

During manufacturing, an adequately secured supply chain is also important for semiconductors of all kinds. Microchip Technology, for example, has added a cryptographically secure supply chain for its FPGAs to its security arsenal, said Paul Quintana, director of Vertical Market for Defense & Security at Microchip. “We make extensive use of hardware security models and keep those at the wafer and packaging manufacturing houses,” he explained. “All the devices manufactured have cryptographic signature keys, and that is a point of vulnerability. Loading or reading keys is done through a high security network that we provide to the supply chain. The whole idea is to make sure that the data stays private and is known only to us. We do the same thing at package testing.”

The next frontier for chip security is the automotive market. Security is crucial in automotive as equipment lifecycles can span decades. Further, vehicles are increasingly internet connected through entertainment systems, leaving them vulnerable to hackers. “Automotive entertainment units include contacts with useful, private, sensitive information and are the most hackable elements of the vehicle,” said Ira McDonald, president of High North and a software architect and consultant in network management, security, and cybersecurity. “It hasn’t happened yet but it is a distinct possibility.”

Currently, SAE International is working on requirements for Hardware-Protected Security for Ground Vehicle Applications (dubbed J3101), which will define a common set of security standards for grounded vehicles. “People keep cars for a long time. The intent of J3101 is to define what capabilities are needed as well as some application use cases,” said McDonald. “In the next addendum, there will be half a dozen use cases and eventually a checklist that lists all the requirements and recommendations that should be implemented.”

The connected nature of cars is also creating a lively conversation about information policy, particularly in the wake of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and stringent privacy laws passed in California. “Automotive engineers are sensitive to privacy and designing that into subsystems,” said McDonald.

Privacy Versus Security:
These two notions have never been mutually exclusive, but today's technological developments have been increasing the tension between them.

Check out all the stories inside this Privacy and Security Special Project

About the author

Hailey McKeefry

Hailey Lynne McKeefry, Editor in Chief, EBN Hailey Lynne McKeefry has spent more than 25 years writing about technology and business. She began her career as an editor at such periodicals as Macintosh News, EBN, and Windows Magazine. After more than 16 years as a freelance journalist, she has written about a broad variety of technology topics, with a focus on supply chain, components, security, storage, healthcare, and SMBs. Living in the heart of the Silicon Valley, Hailey has written for many top business-to-business publications and Websites including EDN, EETimes, Information Week, CRN, eWeek, Channel Insider, Channel Pro, Redmond Channel Partner, Home Office Computing, and TechTarget. She graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a BA in literature. Follow her on Twitter: @HaileyMcK. hailey.mckeefry@aspencore.com