Tiempo Secure and GreenWaves Technologies demonstrate Secure Element role as Master in an embedded system

Tiempo Secure and GreenWaves Technologies are proud to have demonstrated how a Secure Element brings additional security in a project supported by the French Government, the community of communes Grésivaudan and the Auvergne Rhone Alpes Region. While in classical architecture, developers of SoCs (System-on-Chips) usually use their CPU as the core application processor and call Secure Element functions when needed, the partnership between Tiempo Secure and GreenWaves Technologies turns the tables and demonstrates a better architecture where the Secure Element is in control of the boot process. The prototype combines a Tiempo Secure Element with a GreenWaves ultra-low power RISC-V based Application Processor targeting IoT and hearables markets. A Secure Element is a small component, based on a secure architecture already used in billions of SIM cards and banking cards daily. It has limited and controlled I/O, a limited and protected memory and implements physical security features; as such it constitutes a secure environment, which can be certified to the highest levels of Common Criteria. As the Master of the SoC the Secure Element is the first to boot when the device is started thus guaranteeing that only valid software is used to start the SoC and making it substantially more resistant to hacking attempts. The fact that the boot of the whole device is controlled by the S...