C h a p t e r 1
When an engineer designs a product, one
of the most important considerations
from a security perspective is that the
product is used in the intended way. In
the security world, ensuring that a device
is used properly is known as secure use
management—an area representing one
of the major tenets of embedded security.
To better illustrate the concept of secure
use management, consider a surgical tool
connected to and controlled by a host
system during a medical procedure. For
sanitary and reliability reasons, such a
surgical tool may be designed to be used
only a number of times (let's say 10), after
which it may be unsafe to use. Hence,
during the design process, an engineer
needs to ensure that the tool (device)
is used no more than 10 times, lest the
device is compromised. This is one form
of secure use management.
Another form of secure use management
is ensuring that a device uses real,
genuine parts. A major concern here is
that a device has not been assembled
with counterfeit components or that the
device itself is not a counterfeit product
available for purchase by customers.
One way of ensuring that a tool is not
a counterfeit is to integrate a security
solution within the device, known as
secure authenticators, which contain all of
the proper cryptographic keys, public and
SECURE USE MANAGEMENT
Gael Lemoine
Lead Hardware R&D Engineer, Viasat, Inc.
Devices are storing more personal
and sensitive data, and this trend
will continue to grow. Keeping data
protected is not only an ethical
responsibility, but it has become a
key to success for companies that
want to survive in a competitive
world and retain customers' trust."
6
Embedded Security: Keeping Edge Data Safe
