Mission-critical and other high-assurance systems deployed worldwide are under rapidly evolving threats from cybercriminals who attempt to extract Critical Program Information (CPI) via the FPGAs that power them. Microchip Technology Inc. announced it has extended its FPGA family’s security with the DesignShield development tool that further helps prevent this information from being extracted for malicious purposes.

 

The DesignShield tool was created to protect developers of aerospace, defense, and other high-assurance systems from cybercriminals trying to acquire an FPGA’s bitstream from the fielded system. It deters reverse-engineering of the bitstream, which can often include CPI, by obscuring its logical equivalent using a combination of logic and routing-based encryption techniques. This improves design security and integrity while reducing system corruption risks, and reduces the possibility that custom code, intellectual property, or information critical to national security is used by non-authorized agents.  

 

The DesignShield tool is available under license as part of Microchip’s Early Access Program, which enables customers to begin designing with FPGA devices and design tools ahead of broader commercial availability. The DesignShield tool is part of Microchip’s Libero Development Tool Suite.