Encryption

[ChuckAmsden]

On the nRF51422 Chip, please describe the 128-bit AES/ECB/CCM/AAR co-processor used in these chips.  Is it symmetric or asymmetric?

[ChuckAmsden]

I am classifying this product, therefore the questions.  If I apply for US government classification, what grouping of products should I seek?  Is the nRF51 products pretty much the same on the encryption?  Or is there a better division of product line to use?

Regards,
Chuck

[Simonr]

Hi Chuck

The nRF51 and 52 series both have the same kind of AES encryption, but specific to the nRF52840 is ARM TrustZone CryptoCell 310 which is a security subsystem which provides root of trust (RoT) and cryptographic services for a device. The Cryptocell has key features like:

• True random number generator compliant with NIST 800-90B, AIS-31 and FIPS 140-2/3.
• Pseudorandom number generator using underlying AES engine compliant with NIST 800-90A
• RSA public key cryptography
• Elliptic curve cryptography
• SEC 2 recommended curves using pseudorandom parameters
• And much more

Please see the nRF52840 PS for the full list of features. As you can see, many of these features are already compliant with various security classifications, so depending on what exactly you want, it might already be covered by the CryptoCell hardware encryption.

Best regards,

Simon