Automotive Electrification and IoT Security: Semiconductor Industry Trends in 2023

[Malcolm Kitchen] Hi, thanks for having me.

[MK] It was great to see Embedded World so busy again, with improved attendance and a real buzz about the exhibition. If I was to pick a few areas that really stood out: Automotive Electrification is still growing immensely, with exciting developments in charging and powertrain. There's some really exciting stuff there, positive for the environment. Everything smart now seems to mention the word secure, which is crucial as things become more connected. Also, the big buzzword AI, Artificial Intelligence. It really feels it's getting close to becoming more mainstream now in technology used in homes and factories, with industrial automation being a significant focus at Embedded World. Solutions for these applications are becoming more mature, making for an exciting year ahead.

[MK] I think the automotive sector, particularly driverless cars, was the standout. The way our dashboards are going to look in the future, efficiency improvements, and the increasing semiconductor content in cars is quite incredible. It's fascinating to see how cars have evolved over the past 40 years. To think that you're going to be able to sit in a car without driving it. I can't wait for that one.

[MK] I was impressed by image recognition technology running on an embedded ARM processor at one of the booths. I had a little bit of fun with it, not only was it doing identification of your face, but it was really looking into the specifics of what your face was doing. I had a little bit of fun practicing my smiling and sad face, which it was doing a really good job at detecting. That'll make or break long distance relationships down the road.

[MK] We mainly talked to our semiconductor partners, such as NXP, ST, Renesas, and Infineon to name a few. We also discussed embedded security with our customers. My focus is on making security simple yet effective. Security can be complicated, with key pairs, cryptography, certificates, if you're not from that world, it can sound daunting. But with support from our partners, we've developed an ecosystem where tools simplify the process and make firmware encryption and product identity easier to implement in your application.

[MK] [MK] I think it's a combination of both. Many applications nowadays are connected, and with that brings more risk. The applications become more vulnerable, you've got to have the right systems and security in place to manage them. But on the other side of the coin, new legislation is coming in like the new UK consumer product regulations enforced as of December, which also drives companies to take security more seriously. People are becoming more aware of security risks in their daily lives, for example every day we interact with our banking apps and we know how secure that is. But then you connect your smart doorbell, for example, to your Wi-Fi network that has a limited amount of security, it makes you think, could this put my Internet connection at risk and can people get into my house via the Internet?

[MK] We are speaking to a wide range of companies who require these services. So think of smaller devices that consume something, but are connected via a Bluetooth app, for example. Many customers think that if your Bluetooth app is encrypted, then you're good to go. But actually, you need to consider the security of the connection between your device to the Bluetooth. especially in consumer applications and industrial automation. Consumer goods, home appliances or white goods, and devices connected via Bluetooth all require solid security. Industrial automation systems can be costly to set up, and a security breach could be disastrous. Heating management and energy management systems also need strong security measures to prevent potential environmental impacts.

[MK] Absolutely. We've seen a significant increase in speed over the last six months, driven partly by legislation and also by the availability of secure microcontrollers. However, due to supply shortages, customers have found it difficult to transition to the next generation. It's important to note that you don't necessarily need newer secure microcontrollers to implement security. We have solutions that can be retrofitted into older microcontrollers that do not have any security capabilities. It's crucial to start addressing security at the earliest opportunity, not just when you think you have the right hardware, as there are interesting software and firmware solutions available.

[MK] We're definitely seeing major improvements. Large industries are now receiving a steady supply of chips, which is great. There may still be challenges in some niche areas, for example if you design in a new chip, but overall, the industry has improved significantly over the last six months. This progress will help us all move forward.

[MK] The UK is the first country to enforce legislation that applies to consumer products destined for UK consumers that connect to the Internet or a network. This is about keeping consumers safe and ensuring that IoT devices, such as door locks or Wi-Fi cameras, have the right security standards. To comply, it's essential to have unique encrypted passwords for each product, which cannot be printed on the box or used across all products sold by the company. These passwords must be programmed into the device and encrypted within the microcontroller. We can accomplish both of these tasks, as well as handle the more complex aspect of encrypting the firmware. Once the software and firmware encryption is sorted, we can provision it in high volume at any of our 22 secure programming centers.

[MK] Yes, unencrypted products are no longer acceptable. We can ensure that hackers cannot download code from a device, but even if they somehow managed to read the data, it would be encrypted and unusable so there's nothing they could do with that without quantum computing. This not only protects consumers but also a company's intellectual property. It's also important for our customers, the companies who develop these connected products, to encrypt their firmware on their site and have a Root of Trust. Once the firmware leaves the customer's site, it remains encrypted and can only be understood by the Hardware Security Module (HSM) contained inside our programming machines. The file is then injected into the microcontroller, and only when it boots up will it start to decrypt the firmware. This ensures that there's no weak link in the chain where someone could hack into the firmware or modify it for malicious use.

[MK] We are witnessing a strong interest in security lately. The legislation is in place, the threat has been present for a while, and most importantly, the solutions are now available. At EPS, we have developed a flexible ecosystem of tools since we understand that security needs vary for everyone. It's crucial to have a versatile set of design tools that can provide the appropriate level of security. As a result, we are now seeing many customers engaging with us on security matters, and I am confident that we will be supporting even more customers in the coming year.