CHAPTER 9 Hardware-Based Security

High Performance in Silicon

In Chapter 8 we looked at optimizing software implementations of cryptographic algorithms. In this chapter we will look at hardware alternatives that allow embedded developers to get the most out of their systems.

First, we will look at the topic of hardware assistance. With the advent of the Internet, and the increasing need for security, embedded CPU manufacturers have started adding special instructions to their chips in order to help speed up software implementations of cryptographic algorithms. We will look at some examples of instructions that are useful for common algorithms, as well as some real-world examples of embedded processors that provide this added functionality. ...

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