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News Release from: MIPS Technologies | Subject: MIPS32 4KSc smart card core
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 23 February 2001
MIPS at the core of advanced smart cards
New from MIPS Technologies, the MIPS32 4KSc smart card core is a high-performance, synthesisable embedded 32bit processor core for ultra-low-power advanced smart card applications.
New from MIPS Technologies, the MIPS32 4KSc smart card core is a high-performance, synthesisable embedded 32bit processor core for ultra-low-power advanced smart card applications The processor core is implemented using the new SmartMIPS architecture that is designed to become the industry standard for next-generation smart card chips
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 12 Apr 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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The introduction of the MIPS32 4KSc smart card core follows the July 2000 announcement by MIPS Technologies and Gemplus to create an architectural standard for next-generation smart card chips.
As such, the SmartMIPS architecture is optimised for open operating system platforms such as Sun Microsystems' Java Card technology and Microsoft's Windows for Smart Card.
The SmartMIPS architecture addresses smart card requirements, including advanced complex cryptography and secure transactions, and also will be an elegant solution for other secure platform applications.
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The MIPS32 4KSc smart card core, which was defined with Gemplus, is available for licensing by semiconductor manufacturers for incorporation into smart card chips.
Implementing the SmartMIPS architecture's cryptography enhancements brings a higher level of smart card processing security to the MIPS32 4KSc core by adding special instructions designed for efficient cryptography processing.
These integrated cryptography enhancements reduce the die size and power consumption while increasing cryptographic processing performance, eliminating the need for a coprocessor and reducing overall chip cost.
These new cryptography enhancements support, in software, a wide variety of both public- and secret-key cryptography algorithms, including RSA, DES, AES and Elliptic Curve Cryptography.
By having the security features embedded into software and not the processor future security software upgrades can be easily downloaded from the field.
Therefore, the actual cards do not need to be recalled as a result of a potential breach in the security algorithm.
Public key cryptography performance is significantly enhanced by using special instructions, while elliptic curve cryptography algorithms can use new non-arithmetic instructions.
Secret key cryptography algorithms, like DES and AES, benefit from special instructions, which significantly speeding up operations used for these algorithms.
The MIPS32 4KSc smart card core accelerates the interpretation of JavaCard byte codes and similar interpretive languages by the addition of a scaled, indexed 32bit load instruction that is also part of the SmartMIPS architecture.
Preventing unauthorised access to consumers' personal information is key to the adoption and proliferation of 32bit-based smart cards.
The MIPS32 4KSc smart card core implements system encryption mechanisms and specific features embedded in the core, which disguise processor activity and improve the resistance to invasion through power analysis and other techniques.
Additionally, system encryption mechanisms are implemented to make the MIPS32 4KSc smart card core more secure.
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