SPRY303F May   2019  – February 2025 AM3351 , AM3352 , AM3354 , AM3356 , AM3357 , AM3358 , AM3358-EP , AM3359 , AM4372 , AM4376 , AM4377 , AM4378 , AM4379 , AM5706 , AM5708 , AM5746 , AM5748 , AM623 , AM625 , AM625-Q1 , AM625SIP , AM62A1-Q1 , AM62A3 , AM62A3-Q1 , AM62A7 , AM62A7-Q1 , AM62L , AM62P , AM62P-Q1 , AM6411 , AM6412 , AM6421 , AM6422 , AM6441 , AM6442 , AM6526 , AM6528 , AM6546 , AM6548 , AM68 , AM68A , AM69 , AM69A , DRA821U , DRA821U-Q1 , DRA829J , DRA829J-Q1 , DRA829V , DRA829V-Q1 , TDA4VM , TDA4VM-Q1

 

  1.   1
  2.   Introduction
  3.   Risk management
  4.   What to protect?
  5.   How much security?
  6.   Architectural considerations
  7.   The security pyramid
  8.   Secure boot
  9.   Cryptographic acceleration
  10.   Device-ID and keys
  11.   Debug security
  12.   Trusted execution environment
  13.   External memory protection
  14.   Network security
  15.   Secure storage
  16.   Initial secure programming
  17.   Secure firmware and software updates
  18.   Software Intellectual Property (IP) protection
  19.   Physical security
  20.   Enclosure protection
  21.   Where to start with embedded security?
  22.   Security enablers for TI application processors
  23.   Conclusion
  24.   References

How much security?

Security, like everything else, comes with a cost. The cost of security for system developers includes the cost of designing and integrating security measures into the system, as well as the toll on the system’s performance that those security measures will exact. Given the constantly changing nature of security threats, as well as the continuing ubiquity of embedded systems through initiatives like the IoT, the design of a new system should include the development of a set of metrics that will measure the cost of security against its benefits. Embedded devices can be taken over and used as a launching pad for attacks on other systems where more valuable resources may be located. For example, hacking into a printer/copier may not yield much value to the hacker, but if every document the printer prints or copies is captured and sent to hackers, the damage could be immense.

Embedded systems have an advantage when it comes to the cost of security as many of the products based on embedded systems are produced in great numbers. As a result, the cost of the security subsystem developed for these products can be amortized over large production runs, lowering the per unit cost of security. In addition, a versatile, scalable and portable security architecture developed for a new design can often be transferred to closely related systems or the architecture might be modified slightly to suit the needs of other products.