Kryptor FPGA Adds Open Source Encryption to Arduino and Raspberry Pi Projects
Add complex encryption with a simple serial-based API.
Kryptor FPGA from Skudo is a plug-and-play hardware security module (HSM) designed for any processor that supports serial interfaces. It stores and processes keys entirely within the FPGA chip itself. There are no additional chips on the board, leading to increased security. The generic API and hardware serial interfaces mean it works well for all small project boards like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or BeagleBone.
The application processor communicates with the HSM over SPI, I2C or UART. The screenshot above shows a Raspberry Pi requesting a symmetric key, encrypting a simple message, and then decrypting that message. By off-loading this encryption work via I2C, SPI, or UART to dedicated hardware blocks allows you to focus more on your application's code and worry less about implementing encryption.
You might be wondering, why not just use one of the commercially available elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) chips already on the market? Those chips tend to be a closed-source ASIC, meaning you must 100% trust the vendor for proper implementation of the algorithms. Skudo comments that the difference is that both hardware (board) and software designs are available for inspection.
One of the main strengths and competitive advantages we offer is the verifiability of the entire implementation, which makes use of well-known and proven open source encryption primitives and the adoption of open hardware.
With that, a third party can verify Kryptor's encryption integrity.
Currently, the HSM supports both symmetric and asymmetric keys. Additionally, there is a true random number generator (TRNG) implemented in the Altera MAX10 FPGA.
As of writing, the board's status is pre-launch. Head over to Kryptor FPGA's Crowd Supply project page for more information and follow along with their progress on Twitter.