Cryptography Research (CRI) announced a licensing agreement with Toshiba regarding the use of CRI’s patents to enhance the security of Toshiba’s tamper-resistant products against Differential Power Analysis (DPA) and related attacks.
Under the agreement, Toshiba receives the freedom to use CRI's patents as part of its strategy to develop and enhance its secure products, including smart cards and other applications. The license also covers software executing on licensed Toshiba products, allowing Toshiba’s customers to develop their own security countermeasures without a separate license from Cryptography Research.
“Differential Power Analysis countermeasures is one of the key technologies in security applications. This agreement strengthens our leadership in the security market,” said Toshiya Watanabe, technology executive for system LSI of Toshiba Corporation Semiconductor Company.
“Toshiba is a leading chip supplier in Japan and around the world for a variety of semiconductor form factors and applications utilizing security, from smart card chips to secure storage media and ASICs,” said Carole Coplan, vice president of business development, tamper resistance solutions, Cryptography Research. “We are pleased to include Toshiba among our list of leading licensed chip suppliers.”
DPA is a form of attack that involves monitoring the fluctuating electrical power consumption of a target device and then using advanced statistical methods to derive cryptographic keys and other secrets. Strong countermeasures to DPA help protect tamper-resistant products used in applications such as banking, pay television, mass transit, secure ID, and wireless telecommunications.
Cryptography Research has been awarded a portfolio of over 50 patents covering countermeasures to DPA attacks, with additional patent applications pending.