Cryptography and ALi sign architecture licence agreement for DPA countermeasures
September 11, 2013
Cryptography Research (CRI), a division of Rambus, and ALi Corporation, a provider of set-top box (STB) system-on-chip (SoC) solutions, have signed an architecture license agreement for the use of Cryptography Research’s differential power analysis (DPA) countermeasure patents and technologies in ALi’s STB solutions. By licensing and integrating DPA countermeasures, ALi is securing its solutions against side-channel attacks at the SoC level. In addition, this licence agreement extends to software developed by ALi customers when executed on licensed ALi STB chips.
This architecture licence agreement follows a separate agreement in which ALi’s latest generation of STB chipsets incorporate CRI’s CryptoFirewall security core.
“The growing demands of content security requirements cannot be ignored. Not only does the industry require cost effective and innovative solutions for which ALi products are well known, but also the advancement in attack techniques necessitates the latest security technology to include protections against side channel attacks,” said Daniel Huang, CTO at ALi Corporation. “DPA countermeasures are an integral part of the robust security solutions we are developing to ensure content is protected and securely deployed.”
“With this agreement, ALi is taking an important step in adding critical layers of security to their set-top box solutions,” said Paul Kocher, president of Cryptography Research. “We appreciate and share ALi’s desire to improve the consumer’s ability to securely purchase, download, stream and interact with premium content across their devices.”
DPA is a form of attack that involves measuring variations in the electrical power consumption or RF emissions of a target device, then using advanced statistical methods to derive cryptographic keys and other secrets. Strong countermeasures to DPA are required to protect tamper-resistant products used in applications including banking, pay television, mass transit, secure ID, and wireless telecommunications. Cryptography Research has developed a portfolio of over 70 issued patents covering countermeasures to DPA attacks, with additional patent applications allowed or pending.