MCUs, Companion Chips Enable Wireless Connectivity While Boosting Cybersecurity (Download)
Our vehicles and consumer-electronics devices are increasingly able to communicate wirelessly. A smart thermostat can communicate with your Wi-Fi router, allowing you to adjust your home’s temperature remotely. Your car can talk to your phone over a Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) link to facilitate vehicle access. In these cases, wireless MCUs or wireless companion ICs used with standard MCUs are able to help you implement such functionality and take advantage of features like Bluetooth channel sounding.
Unfortunately, each wireless link provides a potential path for malicious intrusion that can compromise private personal information or endanger safety, so make sure the components you choose have comprehensive security features built in to help minimize the risk. These features include anti-rollback protection, which ensures the use of the most recent and secure firmware; firewall authentication, which prevents unauthorized persons from gaining access; and support for Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3), the latest security protocol standard for Wi-Fi.