STMicroelectronics, a semiconductor firm for electronics applications, has announced its STM32Trust toolkit, intended to aid
designers in building cyber-protection into new Internet of Things (IoT)
devices. The toolkit, which includes design tools and software, helps
users utilize features built into STM32-family microcontrollers to
ensure trust among devices, prevent unauthorized access and resist
side-channel attacks, in order to avert data theft and code
modification.
unbreakable locker lockConnected devices like smart sensors and remote actuators are intrinsic to our infrastructure and services, so ensuring effective
security becomes of paramount importance,” said Ricardo De Sa Earp, the
general manager of STMicroelectronics’ Microcontroller Division, in a
prepared statement. “STM32Trust eases developers’ understanding and
acceptance of the new mandatory security rules, which is a key emerging
challenge in the general-purpose microcontroller market today.”
The STM32 family, a system-on-chip portfolio based on Arm’s Cortex CPU architecture, contains almost 1,000 variants used in smart
appliances, remote sensors, wearables, e-health devices, IoT gateways,
access-controlled storage, payments and more. Depending on the model,
hardware cyber-protection can include features such as customized secure
boot, a random-number generator to prevent hackers from observing
patterns in signals, dedicated encryption co-processors and secure
storage for encryption keys. STMicroelectronics also builds in tamper
detection and firewall code-isolation mechanisms, as well as Arm’s
TrustZone technologies for the protection of sensitive code.
STM32Trust allows product developers to protect connected objects using these features, including reference materials and free software.
Among the reference software packages, X-CUBE-SBSFU demonstrates how to
protect application code being transferred into boot memory or updated
in the field. X-CUBE-SBSFU reference packages are available for STM32F4,
F7, H7, L0, L1, L4, G0, G4 and WB. There is also a reference
implementation of STMicroelectronics’ secure element STSAFE, which is
designed to boosts the security level of a final application.
In addition, secure firmware installation solutions for STM32L4 and STM32H7 microcontrollers provide protection while devices are being
programmed for the first time. The solution offers a toolset to encrypt
OEM binaries with the firm’s Trusted Package Creator software, the
STM32CUBEProgrammer to flash the STM32 securely, and the STM32HSM to
transfer OEM credentials to a programming partner. The STM32Trust
resources, including tools, evaluated reference material and source
code, can be downloaded for free at the company’s website.
