Atmel's Aris++ Development Kit with Embedded Crypto Evaluation Studio™ Offers Menu-Driven Security Configuration and Evaluation.

Today, more and more hackers are illegally using embedded system IP to create and market product clones – a common problem in GPS navigators, cell phones, set top boxes and game consoles, among others. Now one of the most effective ways to protect such counterfeit-prone embedded systems – and fight firmware theft and licensing agreements violation – is by implementing cryptographic hardware security, such as that provided by Atmel® Corporation's CryptoMemory®.

However, until the advent of the Aris++ kit and CryptoCompanion Chip, developing such systems required engineers to be experts in cryptography and cryptographic algorithms and manually write software to implement systems security. Now, libraries that come with the Aris++ kit contain all the required cryptographic functions in a ready-to-use form. And the Embedded Crypto Evaluation Studio that comes with the kit can walk engineers through the security-configuration process via check boxes and walk-through menus. No coding is required. Here's why…

Atmel's new Aris++ Development kit with the Crypto Evaluation Studio tool suite is designed to counterfeit-proof embedded applications that are protected by hardware-based encryption and mutual authentication. The Aris++ kit includes:

• A stand-alone application development board with Atmel's 8 Kbit CryptoMemory IC (the board also includes an LCD display, joy stick, push buttons and LEDs, plus JTAG, USB, and serial ports for extensive debug, connectivity, and power options)

• A CryptoCompanion chip for plug-and-play host-side configuration

• An AT90USB1287 AVR© flash microcontroller for application development

 The advantages are many:

• The Embedded Crypto Evaluation Studio in Aris++ provides a menu-driven, graphical user interface for CryptoMemory configuration and testing.

• Aris++ also includes development libraries that implement all host cryptographic operations required for secure communication on a variety of different microcontroller platforms.

• The Aris++ Embedded Crypto Solutions CD provides comprehensive information on CryptoMemory and CryptoCompanion ICs, including datasheets, white papers, application examples and much more.

• Applications developed with Aris++ may be ported to any microcontroller platform.

• Utilizing the LCD screen, joy stick, buttons and LEDs on the Aris++ development board (without loading any software on a PC), users can fully demonstrate, evaluate and test the complete embedded application and its security features.

• Using the JTAG port, engineers can easily detect syntactic and semantic errors in their software and have greater visibility into the workings of their applications. Aris++ is fully compatible with Atmel's low-cost JTAG-ICE MkII debug platform.

CryptoMemory devices, featuring dual authentication capability, are the world's only secure EEPROMs with a 64-bit embedded hardware cryptographic engine including multiple non-readable 64-bit keys for both authentication and session encryption. CryptoCompanion is a single-chip host solution that implements algorithms and securely stores and manages the host secrets required for secure communications.

Atmel Corporation is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of advanced semiconductors, including advanced logic, nonvolatile memory, mixed signal and RF integrated circuits.