Renesas NFC and Security
October 24, 2012, Renesas DevCon, Anahiem, CA—We talked with Nick Mori and Denis Keeley about the emerging markets for wireless charging and secure MCUs. It turns out that you have to have both characteristics to enable a smart wireless charger that won’t allow external access to the embedded processor in the rechargeable device.
NFC devices are becoming more widely available as mobile device makers add the technology to their products. Applications include smart cards, embedded security authorization, and other apps that need or use security. The devices are part of the trust environment and have to meet the many security standards.
Products needing security features must hold keys, accelerate the cryptographic functions, and provide a tamper-proof design. As a part of the trust environment, the cryptographic functions need more than just a key. Some extra design features include extra logic to scramble memory, making a random layout, and setting up structures to minimize or eliminate distinct patterns in electrical signals.
Their 30 years of experience in smart cards helped them develop a FIPS compliant solution. The security processors have firmware to enable pre-boot security checks and shut-down for breech attempts. Their solution is simpler than the Trusted Computing Group’s Trusted Processor Module, yet meets the TPG standard.
When the security features are added to the NFC module, it can enforce data security through identity and authorization protocols and can be a part of a multi-factor authentication policy. The secure front-end function blocks allow the radio-based security to block physical intrusion efforts.
The network operators and their handset partners can define their own requirements just by using these secure blocks. The company makes a full 1-chip solution, an RF module for the NFC, and secure elements for inclusion into the NFC design. A security assist Java card has been ported into hardware.
The security features also enable battery-less operation through the NFC power structure. This replaces the USB cable and creates a data channel and a charging channel between the charger and the handset. The energy harvesting component requires additional analog elements.
