Security certifications for smartcard controllers confirm resistance to attack

Renesas' AE55C1 has been re-certified with a functionally enhanced version of the company’s Advanced Cryptographic Library software (ACL). This software is designed to make the implementation of secure crypto functionality much easier by providing standard calls to powerful low-level cryptographic and security functions, already certified for use by the customers' own operating systems.



Renesas' AE57C1 is an extended memory version of the AE55C1, with a number of additional features, including a built-in AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) crypto engine, as well as the standard DES processor. Unlike the AE55C1, this product has been certified without the ACL; however the Renesas software library is designed to be run on all members of the AE-5 family having the necessary coprocessor hardware.



Both of these devices, with or without the Advanced Cryptographic Library software, are suitable for use in a wide range of security-conscious applications, such as financial, ID and SIM cards. Together with Renesas' AE-4 family of 16-bit microcontrollers, the 32-bit AE-5 family now offers a range of certified products for security applications.



The ‘Common Criteria’ security assurance standard (ISO/IEC 15408) is widely recognised and accepted throughout the world as the benchmark for security assessment. The security claims of Renesas' AE-series products are fully compliant with the industry-standard protection profile BSI-PP-0002-2001.

In obtaining certification, evaluation was carried out by T-Systems GEI GmbH of Germany, and certification was implemented by the German Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI). Obtaining these high-level certifications means that Renesas’ products continue to be recognised internationally, and that users can confidently undertake the development of systems requiring a high-level security by using these products.



Jean-Pierre Delesse, Business Group Manager, Mobile Security Business Group, for Renesas Technology Europe, commented, “These two new security certifications are important milestones in the implementation of Renesas’ strategy to focus more on high security activities. They come at a time when the demand for higher security is dramatically increasing in many new applications, therefore they give even higher confidence that Renesas products can provide suitable solutions for those applications”



Renesas will continue to seek certification of other integrated circuits, undertake the development of products supporting still higher levels of security as well as high-functionality products, and make renewed efforts in many of the fields requiring robust security.



In today's challenging global environment, security assurance is increasingly sought in a growing range of markets and applications: companies and end-users alike demand confidence that their information and details are available only to the authorised user and that they cannot be misused. In support of these requirements, Renesas continues to introduce new members to its popular AE-5 series, certified to the highest level of resistance to attack possible under the Common Criteria scheme.