Microchip Looks to Defeat Future Quantum Cryptographic Attacks with Its New MEC175xB Controllers
Arm Cortex-M4F chips come with NSA-standard post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, designed to withstand as-yet theoretical attacks.
Microchip has announced a new generation of embedded controllers, the MEC175xB, which come with a security feature that may become a must-have in the not-too-distant future: quantum-resistant cryptography.
"As the significance of potential, future attacks on cryptography using quantum computing is understood more widely, the cybersecurity landscape is already undergoing substantial transformations," claims Microchip's Nuri Dagdeviren. "Our MEC175xB controllers, featuring quantum-resistant cryptography implemented in immutable hardware with efficient power management, are designed to equip our customers with the tools they need to navigate increasingly complex digital security requirements."
Quantum computing systems don't work in a binary manner like traditional computing systems, where a given bit is either zero or one; a quantum computer can hold bits in superposition, where it is both zero and one at the same time. In theory, this makes it suitable for rapidly churning through certain classes of problems in a fraction of the time of a classical computer — but while concerns have been raised that future quantum computing systems could render existing cryptographic systems reliant on the difficulty in factorizing the products of large primes obsolete, it remains unproven in the real world.
That hasn't stopped governments and security services encouraging the adoption of so-called "post-quantum cryptography," however: The US National Security Agency (NSA) is among those who have published recommendations to move from current cryptographic systems to ones which should resist attack from theoretical future quantum computers, and it's these recommendations Microchip is looking to follow with the MEC175xB family.
The new chips are designed around the NSA's Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite 2.0 (CNSA 2.0), developed in partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), featuring Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Algorithms (ML-DSA), Merkle stateful hash-based Leighton-Micali Signature (LMS) verification and Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM) — all algorithms designed to resist attack by as-yet theoretical large-scale quantum computers. The chips also include Secure Boot and a secure firmware update scheme that can follow CNSA 2.0, the earlier 1.0, or a hybrid approach.
The security features aside, the MEC175xB chips come with an Arm Cortex-M4F core running at up to 96MHz, an integrated Memory Protection Unit (MPU), 480kB of static RAM (SRAM), 128 bytes of battery-powered SRAM for storage, 128kB of ROM space, 512kB of internal SPI flash, and an 8kB EEPROM, with peripherals including I3C host and client interfaces and, on some models, a USB 2.0 Full Speed interface.
More information on the new chip family is available on the Microchip website; at the time of writing the parts were only available in sample quantities through the company's early adopter program, with pricing not yet publicly disclosed.