Microchip introduces the industry's first end-to-end security solution designed specifically for IoT devices connected to Amazon's AWS cloud platform

     Microchip Technology, the world's leading provider of integrated microcontroller, mixed-signal, emulator and flash memory patented solutions, announced the industry's first dedicated connection to Amazon Web Services IoT(AWS) An end-to-end security solution designed for Internet of Things (IoT) devices on the IoT cloud platform. Microchip and Amazon's AWS division worked together to develop this integrated solution that enables IoT devices to easily and quickly meet AWS's mutual verification IoT security model standards. Microchip's new security solution enables enterprise users to apply best security practices from evaluation to production. The new solution not only significantly improves security performance, but also simplifies the supply chain and is one of the fastest ways to connect to the AWS cloud service platform.

     Currently, third-party vendors that produce devices that connect to AWS IoT services must perform the following specific behaviors to meet the standards of the Advanced Security Model. First, they must pre-register for security access to AWS servers to build a trust model. Second, they must generate a unique key for each IoT device that is mathematically associated with previously pre-registered security permissions. Finally, the unique device key must be kept secret for the entire life of the device. In mass production, generating and securely handling these unique keys at all stages of production is a huge challenge, especially when third-party vendors have varying levels of trust and compliance.

     Microchip's new end-to-end security solution does this in three production steps. First, during the evaluation and engineering phase, the AT88CKECC toolkit helps customers meet the security standards of the AWS mutual verification model and easily connect to the AWS IoT platform. Then, during prototype development and pre-production, the AWS-ECC508 device meets the safety standards. Finally, in the production phase, devices will be customized to ensure information security in customer applications.

     As a result, customers simply solder the device to the circuit board and connect it via I2C to the host MCU, which runs the AWS Software Development Kit (SDK) to take full advantage of the ECC508 device for AWS IoT. Once this is done, there is no need to load the unique keys and certificates required for verification during device production, as AWS recognizes the AWS-ECC508 that is already pre-configured without any intervention. All information is contained in a small (3 x 2 mm), easy-to-deploy encryption package.

     AWS and ECC508 devices have a wide range of mutually verified security features that complement and complement each other. The device offers robust protection against environmental and physical tampering, including security countermeasures against expert intrusion attempts. In addition, the device has a high-quality random number generator that internally generates unique secure keys and seamlessly adapates to various production processes in the most cost effective way. A typical IoT device typically contains a small [8-bit] MCU and is powered by a battery. It is usually limited by the resources available, such as providing low latency response central processor (CPU) performance, storage and code space for security protocols, and the power that can be consumed to extend battery life. The ECC508 device features password acceleration independent of low power processors and is compatible with the broadest range of resource-constrained IoT devices.

     "We know that implementing AWS mutual verification in MCUS is often complicated," said Nuri Dagdeviren, vice president and general manager of security products at Atmel, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microchip. Customers will need to have some understanding of how to ensure a secure software deployment, and this often creates a huge barrier. We have a long and stable relationship with AWS. We are excited about the opportunity to work with the world's largest cloud service provider to build a solution that helps our customers easily and securely connect to the AWS cloud platform."

     Marco Argenti, Vice president of Mobile and Internet of Things at Amazon Web Services, said: "We have a strong and stable relationship with Microchip. We are excited to provide world-class solutions to help customers deploy secure and scalable IoT solutions on our cloud services platform." For all the companies we work with, adopting best security practices is a critical step in achieving our shared goal of providing our customers with the best and most secure IoT platform available. We believe this new solution will be one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to help customers comply with our best security practices."