ActiveX control enables asymmetric cryptography on FTDI USB ICs

The FTDIChip-ID is a unique 32-bit number that is burned into the IC device during manufacture. This ID is then readable over a connected USB port and forms the basis of a security check to prevent use of unlicensed copies of application software.

An asymmetric cryptography technique, using both public and private keys, is incorporated into the SafeGuard-IT control. Encrypted information based on the FTDIChip-ID, the private key and an optional password is programmed back into the IC’s integrated EEPROM. This provides an easy to deploy method of software protection with a high level of security. With this approach, SafeGuard-IT protected software packages need only be compiled once and can then be distributed with just two additional files to decrypt the information, the public key and the SafeGuard-IT DLL.