New details on Altera network-on-FPGA

New details on Altera network-on-FPGA
by Don Dingee on 08-28-2014 at 4:00 pm

Advantages to using NoCs in SoC design are well documented: reduced routing congestion, better performance than crossbars, improved optimization and reuse of IP, strategies for system power management, and so on. What happens when NoCs move into FPGAs, or more accurately the SoC variant combining ARM cores with programmable… Read More


Secure at any IoT deed

Secure at any IoT deed
by Don Dingee on 08-25-2014 at 3:00 pm

In his classic book “Unsafe at Any Speed”, Ralph Nader assailed the auto industry and their approach to styling and cost efficiency at the expense of safety during the 1960s. He squared up on perceived defects in the Chevrolet Corvair, but extended his view to wider issues such as tire inflation ratings favoring passenger comfort… Read More


Wipe that smile off your device

Wipe that smile off your device
by Don Dingee on 07-30-2014 at 8:00 am

Privacy is a tough enough question when using a device – but what about when we’re done with it? In a world of two year service agreements with device upgrades and things being attached to long-life property like cars and homes, your data could fall into the hands of the next owner way too easily.

“Oh, it’s OK, I wiped the phone with a factory… Read More


Is this thing real? Symmetric authentication will tell you!

Is this thing real? Symmetric authentication will tell you!
by Bill Boldt on 07-01-2014 at 6:00 pm

The act of authentication is very straightforward. Essentially, it is making sure that something is real.

There are two parts to authentication:

[LIST=1]

  • Identification
  • Confirmation of identity

    Authentication in the “crypto-verse” typically happens on a host and client basis where the host wants to ensure that a client is

  • Read More

    What is Authentication and Why Should You Care?

    What is Authentication and Why Should You Care?
    by Bill Boldt on 06-18-2014 at 10:00 pm

    Authentication means making sure that something is real, just like it sounds.In the real world, authentication has many uses. One of the most recognizable is anti-counterfeiting, which means validating the authenticity of a removable, replaceable, or consumable client. Examples include system accessories, electronic Read More


    On-chip Firewall

    On-chip Firewall
    by Paul McLellan on 04-22-2014 at 8:00 am

    We have had the Snowden revelations that the NSA has gone rogue, Target lost a zillion credit cards, the Heartbleed bug meaning that main security protocol of the internet had been coded up wrong for a couple of years, theft of records from RSA and more. One result is that people do not completely trust a security system that depends… Read More


    Can the NSA Get Into Your Chip?

    Can the NSA Get Into Your Chip?
    by Paul McLellan on 04-21-2014 at 2:49 am

    At DVCon Lawrence Loh and Viktor Markus Purri gave a tutorial on Formally Verifying Security Aspects of SoC Designs. Lawrence is the direector of WW application engineering and Markus is an FAE who specializes in security verification.

    I’m not going to attempt to summarize an entire half-day tutorial in under 1000 words,… Read More


    Imagine what all the DLP technology can do for you

    Imagine what all the DLP technology can do for you
    by Pawan Fangaria on 03-24-2014 at 7:00 pm

    Light has become integral part of most of the electronic devices we use today in any sphere of influence; personal, entertainment, consumer, automotive, medical, security, and industrial and so on. It’s obvious; along with IoT (Internet-of-Things) devices, the devices to illuminate and display things will play a major role… Read More


    DAC: Automotive, IP and Security

    DAC: Automotive, IP and Security
    by Paul McLellan on 03-21-2014 at 5:18 pm

    DAC is in the first week of June in San Francisco as I’m sure you already know if you are reading this. Historically DAC has focused on electronic design automation (EDA) and embedded software and systems (ESS). This year there are three new areas: automotive, Intellectual Property (IP) and security.

    Automotive
    Ever increasing… Read More


    Smart cards hard for the US to figure out?

    Smart cards hard for the US to figure out?
    by Don Dingee on 02-18-2014 at 3:30 pm

    Every once in a while, I just scratch my head and wonder just what in the wide, wide world of tech is going on. More than ever, it seems the big barriers to adoption aren’t a lack of technology – instead, barriers come from a system that staunchly defends the old way of doing things, even when the participants are battered, broken, and … Read More