Introducing agileSecure anti-tamper security portfolio

At Agile Analog, we have been working in the anti-tamper security space for some time. Now we have brought together our novel analog security related IP under one umbrella – agileSecure. This anti-tamper portfolio offers customers a simple one-stop shop for our customizable, process agnostic analog tamper detection and tamper prevention IP. Our agileSecure products can protect Systems-on-Chips (SoCs) and meet the industry’s urgent need for robust hardware-level security - especially important for sensitive applications on advanced process nodes.

Tamper detection IP

Agile Analog’s tamper detection IP is a comprehensive set of sensors and monitors designed to detect a wide variety of physical attacks and side-channel attacks (SCAs). This IP also provides enhanced protection over existing digital solutions for secure enclaves and Root of Trust (RoT) systems. Our new agileEMSensor electromagnetic sensor identifies Electro-Magnetic Fault Injection (EMFI) attacks, complementing our existing tamper detection offerings that guard against clock, voltage and temperature attacks.

Our tamper detection IP:

‍agileCAM is a Ring Oscillator (RO) based monitor designed to detect clock attacks due to violation of the set-up time requirements of critical circuits, as well as changes in clock frequency, clock hold and clock glitch errors. It provides a relative frequency measurement of the monitored clock with programmable alarm thresholds.

‍agileVGLITCH is a voltage monitor that offers protection against voltage side-channel attacks (SCAs), and tampering such as supply voltage changes/glitches and power supply manipulation. The sensor provides digital outputs to warn of intrusion attempts, enabling a holistic approach to hardware security.

‍agileTSENSE_D is a temperature sensor that has an integrated ADC to provide a digital output. There is built-in voltage trim to facilitate process and/or manufacturing offsets to be adjusted, with an analog test bus to aid DFT/DFM test. Temperature sensing is key for detection of security attacks.

‍agileEMSensor is a Ring Oscillator (RO) based sensor designed to detect electromagnetic faults induced in critical circuits. It offers protection against side-channel attacks (SCAs) and tampering through electromagnetic fault injection. The RO based scheme is easily configurable with programmable thresholds and internal calibration.‍

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Tamper prevention IP

Our agileSecure portfolio also includes a range of tamper prevention IP, such as an internally biased LDO (agileLDO), bandgap reference (agileREF) and oscillator (agileRCOSC), as well as Power-On-Reset (agilePOR) and Power-OK (agilePOK) circuits, to further secure critical circuitry from external attack.

Tamper prevention IP strengthens the underlying infrastructure of a secure SoC to make successful attacks far more difficult. By removing dependency on external biasing or clock sources, agileLDO, agileREF and agileOSC ensure that critical security blocks operate from trusted, internally generated supplies and clocks. This isolation helps protect against both physical tamper attacks and side-channel analysis through the supply rails or clock inputs.

agilePOR and agilePOK ensure robust startup and reset conditions, preventing attackers from exploiting unstable power-up states or glitching resets to bypass security checks. These building blocks are essential for secure enclaves, Root of Trust systems and cryptographic engines, providing a level of protection before higher-level security protocols have started up.‍

Evolving security threats

Together, tamper detection and tamper prevention form a layered defense strategy: the detector IP raises alarms and enables system-level responses, while the prevention IP minimizes the attack surface, ensuring that sensitive operations remain protected even under hostile conditions.

Following a recent surge in the frequency and complexity of security threats it is evident that tamper detection and tamper prevention tools are now crucial considerations for all companies. Security certifications such as the EU’s Common Criteria defines several levels of vulnerability assurance as part of its EAL (Evaluation Assurance Level) called AVA_VAN. The higher the AVA_VAN level the more secure a device or system is against security threats. Combining multiple monitors and sensors can provide a comprehensive anti-tamper solution which, when installed appropriately, results in an improved AVA_VAN score. Delivering devices and systems with higher EAL levels gives greater protection against a range of attack routes.

Agile Analog is a specialist in optimizing and seamlessly integrating analog IP, matched to a customer’s exact requirements. The introduction of our agileSecure anti-tamper portfolio comes at a critical time when many companies are struggling to get to grips with security requirements, standards and certifications.

To learn more about our agileSecure anti-tamper IP please visit our Security IP web page.