PUF key storage tightens FPGA security

The integration of Intrinsic-ID’s PUF technology within Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs greatly enhance the security capabilities of the devices, addressing the growing need for security for all components used in systems.

Today’s FPGAs and SoC FPGAs are sophisticated, multi-function components that demand the latest advancements in hardware security as a defense against greater adversarial challenges. Intrinsic-ID’s PUF security solution adds strong anti-tamper protection to Stratix 10 FPGA-based systems by binding proprietary and sensitive design information to the unique physics of each individual device. Binding hardware functions and software to a PUF provides a very strong device authentication method and protection against cloning. The inclusion of PUF technology and the use of a Secure Device Manager (SDM) for security management, make Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs an ideal solution for use in military, cloud security and IoT infrastructure, where multi-layered security and partitioned IP protection are paramount.

The partnership between Altera and Intrinsic-ID enables users of Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs to license Intrinsic-ID’s PUF technology for a variety of security use cases in their designs. Customer and user support will be enabled by Intrinsic-ID and by their support partner EndoSec for U.S. customers.

“Intrinsic-ID are industry leaders in offering PUF technology and our partnership with them enables us to build into our high-performance FPGAs and SoCs security features that are unmatched in the industry,” said Dan McNamara, Vice President, Embedded Division, Altera. “The solutions we jointly develop will enable us to enhance our standard FPGA configuration file design security, but will also enable device authentication in sensitive applications running on FPGAs.”

“Intrinsic-ID has enjoyed a long market lead in the development of PUF technology, and by working with Altera, we expect Altera customers in highly sensitive fields such as military, communications, data center, cloud security and supply chain management to benefit greatly from our experience,” said Pim Tuyls, CEO, Intrinsic-ID. “Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs with Intrinsic-ID PUF technology will deliver superior anti-tamper and anti-cloning features and we are very excited to work with Altera to deliver these advanced security solutions to the FPGA market.”

Security Features in Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs deliver the highest performance along with the highest levels of system integration. The device family features an SDM, available in all densities and family variants. Serving as the central command centre for the entire FPGA, the Secure Device Manager controls key operations such as configuration, device security, single event upset responses and power management. The Secure Device Manager creates a unified, secure management system for the entire device, including the FPGA fabric, hard processor system in SoC devices, embedded hard IP blocks, and I/O blocks.