MPU core vendor ARM Ltd. has released an extension to the ARM architecture designed to provide a secure foundation for systems running open operating systems such as Linux, Palm OS, Symbian OS and Windows CE. The company said it created the new TrustZone technology in response to industry demands for greater levels of security in a range of digital electronic devices, such as set-top boxes, next-generation smart phones, and payment and network equipment.

ARM said its TrustZone technology will ensure that data downloaded or run on an ARM device remains secure, protecting consumer privacy and opening up a range of services, such as mobile banking and multimedia entertainment, to wider consumer use.

The technology also complements secure application environments such as Sun Microsystems' Java by making security implementation on devices more efficient, according to ARM.

Users will implement the TrustZone technology within the microprocessor core itself, enabling the protection of on- and off-chip memory. Folding the security elements of the system into the core hardware eliminates security issues surrounding proprietary, nonportable solutions outside the core, the company said.

ARM maintains that making security an intrinsic feature at the heart of every device has minimal impact on the core area or performance, while enabling developers to build cryptography or any other, additional security measures onto a secure hardware foundation.

ARM's TrustZone technology tags and partitions secure code and data within the system and maintains a clear, hardware separation between secure and nonsecure information, said ARM. That separation is said to let secure code and data run alongside an OS securely and efficiently, without being compromised or accessible to attack.

Licensing for TrustZone will begin in 2004, but the specification is available now on www.arm.com.

Michael Santarini is senior editor for EDA and cores. He can be reached at msantari@cmp.com.

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