Atmel to Enter 32-Bit High Memory Density Smart Card Chip Market; Atmel's System Level Integration Provides Solution For Litronic Forte' Project.SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 1998--Atmel Corp. (Nasdaq:ATML ATML Automatic Test Markup Language ATML Automated Test Markup Language ) today announced its participation in the Forte' Project led by Litronic in partnership with the National Security Agency (NSA). Atmel will deliver a 32-bit ARM(TM)-based Smart Card chip design that includes a high-speed Universal Serial Bus See USB. (hardware, standard) Universal Serial Bus - (USB) An external peripheral interface standard for communication between a computer and external peripherals over an inexpensive cable using biserial transmission. (USB USB in full Universal Serial Bus Type of serial bus that allows peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, digitizers, data gloves, etc.) to be easily connected to a computer. ) interface, high capacity EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) A rewritable memory chip that holds its content without power. Although EEPROMs spawned flash memory, EEPROMs are byte addressable at the write level, whereas flash chips must erase a block of bytes before rewriting. , ROM and several different hardware encryption engines among other features. Atmel was chosen by Litronic for its ability to combine multiple technologies into a system level integration solution for the next generation FORTEZZA cards currently used by the U.S. government. Placing the features of the FORTEZZA system on a Smart Card is much more cost effective than the PCMCIA cards in use today. No other Smart Card chip design integrates as many functional features as the Forte' design. This chip is the first to offer practical on-board bulk or stream encryption. It is the first single chip Smart Card solution to provide FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) A series of publications issed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that specifies information security guidelines for federal government departments and agencies. 140-1 level 3 security, high performance multiple encryption technology, and multi-application support. The Forte' chip will leverage Atmel's superior EEPROM technology to provide high memory density combined with a large ROM capacity other logic and analog structures to essentially form a system-on-a-chip for multi-application use. The Atmel device incorporates cryptographic engines including a fast-math coprocessor for RSA (1) (Rural Service Area) See MSA. (2) (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) A highly secure cryptography method by RSA Security, Inc., Bedford, MA (www.rsa.com), a division of EMC Corporation since 2006. It uses a two-part key. and DSA function, Atmel's proprietary DES engine and a newly developed SkipJack skipjack: see herring. (cryptography) SkipJack - An encryption algorithm created by the NSA (National Security Agency) which encrypts 64-bit blocks of data with an 80-bit key. engine. Atmel has integrated a randomizer In telecommunication, the term randomizer has the following meanings: 1. A device used to invert the sense of pseudorandomly selected bits of a bit stream to avoid long sequences of bits of the same sense (also referred to as scrambler). that was developed in concert with the NSA, allowing true random number generation for more secure key generation. Atmel will provide all product hardware development and manufacturing within U.S. borders; Litronic will provide the firmware, also developed here in the United States. Bob Gray, vice president of product development for Litronic said, "Atmel is enabling industry leaders like Litronic to extend our leadership in high-growth markets. Atmel's expertise with regard to reducing system costs and complexity while speeding our time to market was a key factor in selecting them for this project. In addition, the design work on the device is provided by engineering support solely from Atmel's design center in Colorado Springs, Colorado The City of Colorado Springs is the second most populous city (after Denver) in the state of Colorado and the 48th most populous city in the United States.[4] The city is the county seat of El Paso County. ." Litronic provides multi-platform, standards-based security environments for government and commercial users. This total security solution includes software, enabling toolkits, supporting hardware, and professional services. With more than eight years of experience providing innovative information security solutions, Litronic is an industry leader in the development and implementation of security technologies in the commercial and governmental sectors. For detailed company and product information visit the Litronic web site at www.litronic.com. The National Security Agency (NSA) Information Systems Security Organization (ISSO See CSO. ), network Security Group, is tasked with enabling network security solutions for its DOD (1) (Dial On Demand) A feature that allows a device to automatically dial a telephone number. For example, an ISDN router with dial on demand will automatically dial up the ISP when it senses IP traffic destined for the Internet. customers. Project Forte' reaffirms NSA's commitment to enabling solutions that provide a broad range of cost, performance, and security trade-offs as well as support for its customers who have the need to communicate with business, government and financial sectors. Participating with industrial partners in a technology-sharing venture such as this allows the Government to address its short-term interoperability needs while contributing to the robustness of COTS security products. Founded in 1984, Atmel Corp. is headquartered in San Jose, with principal manufacturing facilities in Colorado Springs, Nantes and Rousset, France and Heilbronn, Germany. Atmel designs, manufactures and markets on a worldwide basis advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory, and RF semiconductors. Atmel is also a leading provider of system level integration semiconductor solutions using advanced CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. , BiCMOS, BiPolar and SiGe process technologies. Atmel product and financial information are available from its Fax-on-Demand service. In North America call 800/292-8635 or Internationally, call 408/441-0732. Requests may be made via e-mail to literature@atmel.com or by visiting Atmel's website at www.atmel.com. Note to Editors: Atmel, the Atmel logo and combinations thereof are trademarks of Atmel Corporation. Additional terms and product names in this document may be trademarks of others. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion