NXP unleashes SmartMX2 MCU for secure multi-apps

EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS: NXP Semiconductors N.V. has launched the SmartMX2 -- an all-new family of secure microcontrollers built on the groundbreaking IntegralSecurity architecture.

The SmartMX2 is designed to provide unprecedented levels of security for multi-applications without compromising on convenience, performance or design productivity. With its flexibility and scalability, the SmartMX2 covers a wide range of applications such as eGovernment, banking, PayTV, mobile transactions, public transport, access management and device authentication.

A major trend in identification today is the movement toward supporting multiple applications in a single secure smart card and in NFC-enabled mobile phones. The new German national ID card, for example, can be used instead of a passport when traveling within Europe, and also facilitates secure online transactions.

Another example is the Taiwan Easy Card which unifies functions including public transport ticketing, micro-payments, event ticketing and student ID. Further, NFC-enabled phones will provide consumers with a wide range of applications that enhance user convenience and security.

SmartMX2 from NXP removes much of the complexity associated with designing identification cards supporting multiple applications, while integrating the highest possible levels of security and performance.

"Today's market is no longer simply a case of applications within a vertical sector -- instead we are increasingly looking at convergence between vertical markets. Already there is crossover between electronic identity and payment, as well as more development of infrastructure enabling both payments and transportation on a wider scale," said John Devlin, practice director, AutoID and Smart Cards, ABI Research.

"In Russia, for example, the government is aiming to integrate national ID, social security, public transport and payments onto a single card. In addition to the increased complexity demanded of these solutions, the ability to fulfill multi-faceted security standards whilst remaining flexible and scalable is paramount."

"Multi-applications have been around for a few years, but so far the industry has been slow to fully embrace this trend due to the increasing complexity with each new generation of design," said Ruediger Stroh, executive vice president and general manager of Identification, NXP Semiconductors.

"What the NXP SmartMX2 product brings is the groundbreaking IntegralSecurity architecture, as well as outstanding performance and a smooth path to implementation, to help our customers get to market faster and save both time and cost."

Secure multi-apps without compromise
With SmartMX2, NXP is introducing the new IntegralSecurity architecture designed to protect the integrity and confidentiality of user data and applications targeting CC EAL 6+ certification. IntegralSecurity is a unique security design built on over 100 dedicated security mechanisms which create a dense protection shield with redundancy and multiple layers.

A hardened Fame2 crypto coprocessor with outstanding power efficiency provides even more DPA resilience, serving the full range of RSA/ECC crypto algorithms with a flexible RSA key length of up to 4,096 bits.

In addition, the SmartMX2 includes the NXP-patented SecureFetch feature, which protects against light and laser attacks, and now covers data other than software code, as well as the NXP-patented GlueLogic feature for advanced protection against reverse-engineering attacks.

Further, the SmartMX2 features a re-engineered MMU (memory management unit) with superior firewalling capabilities for multi-application set-ups. It is manufactured in advanced 0.09 µm CMOS technology with seven metal layers, providing further enhanced protection again reverse engineering and probing attacks, and creating a highly protective mesh of active and dynamic multi-threaded shielding.

The new SmartMX2 offers customers industry-leading performance and transactions times. According to a Dhrystone benchmark, SmartMX2 delivers CPU and crypto performance -- on both contact and contactless interfaces -- that is up to 5.7x faster than its highest performing SmartMX predecessor, while consuming less energy.

Its unique family concept encompasses enhanced memory options for ROM, RAM, EEPROM and FLASH, utilizing the same architecture and interface options. SmartMX2 fully supports NXP's MIFARE technology -- including MIFARE DESFire, MIFARE Plus and MIFARE Classic -- which is now ubiquitous in access control and contactless transport deployments, including 650 cities in more than 60 major cities around the world.