Cryptography Research and IP Cores agree for differential power analysis countermeasures patents

SAN FRANCISCO & PALO ALTO, USA: Cryptography Research, Inc. and IP Cores Inc. have announced an agreement, which will enable IP Cores, Inc. to develop DPA countermeasure implementations for sale to licensees of Cryptography Research’s DPA patents.

“We are proud to join as an early participant in Cryptography Research’s developer ecosystem,” said Dmitri Varsanofiev, chief technical officer at IP Cores. “Secure semiconductor products require effective DPA countermeasures, and the agreement with Cryptography Research enables us to offer DPA countermeasure implementations to our customers for securing products manufactured under a separate license from Cryptography Research.”

“Products are increasingly requiring strong hardware-based security, including cryptographic cores which are protected from differential power analysis for use in FPGAs and ASICs,” said Pankaj Rohatgi, technical director, Hardware Security Solutions at Cryptography Research.

“We are pleased to announce this relationship which will enable IP Cores to provide DPA-resistant security cores to CRI’s direct licensees, as well as to customers buying licensed FPGAs from Actel." On April 26, 2010, Actel became the first FPGA manufacturer to license Cryptography Research’s DPA countermeasure technology.

DPA is a form of attack that involves measuring variations in the electrical power consumption of a target device then using advanced statistical methods to find cryptographic keys and other secrets. Strong countermeasures to DPA are necessary for tamper-resistant products, including those used in banking, pay television, mass transit, secure ID, government and wireless telecommunications.

Cryptography Research has been awarded a portfolio of over 50 patents covering countermeasures to DPA attacks, with additional patent applications pending worldwide.