TrustFLEX ATECC608 Secure Element for AWS^® IoT Core Secure Authentication

When it comes to IoT security, authentication is one of the foundational concepts that should be implemented first in your design. The trust between the device identity and the cloud platform relies on a chain of trust. AWS^® IoT supports certificate-based authentication, but the trust in the device identity will depend entirely on how well the device’s private key is protected. If the private key is spoofed, the device can be impersonated by an unauthorized user who can then control the device’s transactions. However, adding authentication presents you with several challenges: securely storing the private key in the device, shipping the private key across the globe for any project and system size and ensuring a secure manufacturing flow. These challenges can be addressed by using the TrustFLEX ATECC608C-TFLXTLS secure element from our Trust Platform family of solutions.

Defining the secure element’s configuration is generally a time-consuming task. The TrustFLEX ATECC608C-TFLXTLS comes pre-configured with the most commonly used use cases to speed up your development and reduce the complexity of the onboarding process. To further simplify onboarding, the device also comes with default generic certificates for thumbprint authentication and overwritable keys. This allows you to either choose the default certificates and keys and lock them afterwards or overwrite the default credentials with your own. When combined with AWS IoT Core Application Program Interfaces (APIs), such as Just-In-Time-Registration and Use Your Own Certificate, you can use a Certificate Authority provider of your choice to create an end-to-end secure authentication. The device’s private keys will have to be provisioned in the secure element using our provisioning infrastructure and the Hardware Secure Modules (HSMs) that are installed in our factories. The key will then be isolated from exposure to software, firmware, manufacturing sites, end users and other third parties. Our ATECC608C-TFLXTLS provides a common criteria JIL “high” rated secure key storage to isolate keys in the nodes. This is especially valuable in TLS networks that are based on a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) security model and leverage a wide variety of traditional low-power microcontrollers (MCUs).