Secure Your Automotive Networks Without Redesigning Your Vehicle

Increased Vulnerability to Hacking

While the addition of sophisticated infotainment systems and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to automobiles greatly enhances the travel experience for drivers and passengers alike, they inadvertently create multiple points of weakness the hackers can attack. Vehicle hacking has resulted in product recalls and loss of revenue as well as causing incalculable damage to brand reputations across the automotive industry. To prevent this from happening in the future, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 suppliers are now actively looking for practical ways to implement security in their current models that do not require a complete vehicle redesign.

Ready-To-Go Solution

TrustAnchor100 (TA100) is a secure element from the Microchip CryptoAutomotive™ portfolio and represents an ideal solution for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers seeking to bring the highest levels of protection to their networked vehicle systems. TA100 performs the operation of a secure node in an automotive network and provides a comprehensive approach to implementing vehicle security. Its flexible design allows OEMs to configure the node to conform to various specifications and industry standards as required. Features of this IC include secure key storage, electronic control unit (ECU) authentication, hardware-based crypto accelerators, and other cryptographic components. When used with a host microcontroller (MCU), it allows designers to implement functions such as secure boot and controller area network (CAN) message authentication.

TA100 integrates multiple asymmetric, symmetric, and hashing security protocols supporting an ultra-secure method for key agreement, sign-verify authentication for automotive in-vehicle networking applications. Similar to all Microchip CryptoAutomotive™ products, the new TA100 employs ultra-secure hardware-based cryptographic key storage and cryptographic countermeasures which eliminate potential backdoors linked to software weaknesses.

Representing a comprehensive approach to automotive security, this device allows OEMs to continue using their current MCUs and firmware, previously certified to meet the necessary automotive safety standards, by simply adding it to their existing vehicle architecture. TA100 includes all of the built-in security measures required to provide hardware-based key protection. This IC provides significant cost and time saving advantages compared to a complete system redesign, which typically requires a high-end secure MCU and also possibly a significant reworking of the MCU firmware (to implement secure zones with hardware and software domains).

TA100 can be used with any ECU, networking architecture, configuration, or bus, providing the flexibility to implement security in existing systems without the requirement for significant redesigns. This approach also comes with the advantage of minimal impact on existing host MCU functional safety ratings because few (if any) MCU code updates are required.

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI), combined with increasing levels of automation and the imminent deployment of autonomous vehicles are making automotive network security an urgent priority for automotive OEMs and their suppliers. If you have an urgent need to implement security measures in your existing vehicle networks, TrustAnchor100 is available to you today from microchipDIRECT.

For additional information, contact any Microchip sales representative.