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FPGA Code Protector |
GeneralIn today's age of information, data security is more important than ever. In order to be able to offer products at prices lower than the competition,
intellectual property (IP) is often subject to theft.
FPGAs are steadily gaining popularity due to their attractive cost/performance ratio in electronic products. They are being employed on a large scale in
many PCB designs, which makes the need to protect their contents apparent. This is where the FPGA Code Protector (FCP) comes into play.
SRAM-based FPGAs have a volatile memory and lose their configuration data after power-off. These data are usually provided by an external non-volatile
memory that is used by the FPGA for self-configuration as soon as it is powered. The wires from the memory to the FPGA can be tapped easily and thus
constitute a giant loop hole in data security. IP thieves can record the configuration data and program their own chips with them. That way, the entire engineering
effort of an FPGA-based product can be stolen in practically no time.
Gleichmann Electronics Research offers a technically sophisticated solution to this problem. A CPLD constitutes the heart of the FPGA Code Protector which
permanently supervises the IP by communicating with its counterpart in the FPGA. We deliver the latter in form of a black box to our customers that can simply be instantiated.
The FCP offers another advantage: Additional circuitry can be accommodated in the CPLD it resides in. E.g., the JTAG configuration of the FPGA can be realized
along with the FCP in order to be even more cost-efficient.
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