Because some companies produce hundreds to millions of connected devices each year worldwide, the scalability of the architecture can become a significant barrier to deployment. Manufacturers have generally only been able to support the configuration and delivery of large-quantity orders, leaving small and medium-sized businesses with lower-performance options. To address this need in the broader market, Microchip Technology Inc. has introduced the market's first complete, pre-provisioned solution offering secure key storage for small, medium, and large installations using the ATECC608A secure element. Microchip's Trust Platform for its CryptoAuthentication™ family enables businesses of any size to easily implement secure authentication.

Microchip's Trust Platform is a three-tiered offering that provides pre-provided, pre-configured, or fully customizable, ready-to-use secure elements, allowing developers to choose the platform best suited to their design and achieve a unique configuration for each project. As the first solution capable of delivering secure, on-the-go authentication to the general market, the first tier

– Trust&GO – automatically provides pre-provided secure elements for orders of 10 units or more. Device credentials are pre-programmed, sent, and locked within the ATECC608A cloud authentication or embedded LoRaWAN™. Simultaneously, the corresponding certificates and public keys are delivered in a downloadable "manifest" file via the Microchip e-commerce store and select resellers.

 In addition to shortening development time by several months, the solution significantly simplifies supply logistics, making it easier for customers in the general market to add security and manage their edge devices without the added cost of third-party supply services or certification bodies.

Thanks to its ability to authenticate on any public or private cloud infrastructure, Microchip's Trust Platform is also flexible and customizable. For customers seeking even greater customization, the program includes the TrustFLEX and TrustCUSTOM platforms.

The second level of the program, TrustFLEX, offers the flexibility to use the customer's chosen certification body while still leveraging pre-configured use cases. These use cases include benchmark security measures such as strong TLS (Transport Layer Security) authentication for connecting to any IP-based network via a certificate chain, LoRaWAN authentication, secure boot, over-the-air updates, intellectual property protection, user data protection, and key rotation. This reduces the time and complexity of device customization without requiring custom part numbers. For customers who wish to fully customize their designs,

The third level of the program – TrustCUSTOM – provides configuration capabilities and credentials for each customer.

“The surge in successful attacks on software-based security solutions underscores the need for businesses to adopt best practices, such as isolating private keys on secure devices,” said Nuri Dagdeviren, vice president of Microchip’s Secure Products business unit. “Microchip’s Trust Platform makes incorporating hardware-based security simpler and more cost-effective for businesses of all sizes by removing the barriers traditionally associated with device configuration and procurement.”.

Microchip has worked with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to simplify and streamline the integration of AWS IoT services for products designed with all versions of Microchip's Trust Platform.

The ATECC608A provides secure key storage with a "high" rating according to the Joint Interpretation Library (JIL), giving customers confidence that the devices incorporate industry-proven security practices and the highest level of secure key storage. Thanks to a hardware-based root of secure storage and cryptographic countermeasures, the device protects against all known physical attacks. Microchip's secure manufacturing facilities supply keys securely, ensuring they are never exposed to third parties during delivery or throughout the device's lifecycle.

Development tools


The ATECC608A can be connected to any microcontroller and microprocessor. For rapid development of secure solutions, designers can use the Trust Platform Design Suite, which includes:
• A guided “use case tool”
• Python tutorials executable in Jupyter Notebook
• C code examples for each use case
• A “secret sharing” utility
• Hardware development kits for the Trust Platform

Pricing and Availability
Microchip's Trust Platform devices are currently being supplied in volume production for orders with the following minimum quantities:
•Trust&GO for TLS (ATECC608A-TNGTLSx-B): $1.20 with a minimum of 10 units*
• Trust&GO for TLS (ATECC608A-TNGTLSx-G): $0.77 with a minimum of 2000 units*
•Trust&GO for LoRaWAN (The Things Industries ATECC608A-TNGLORAx-B and Actility ATECC608A-TNGACTU-B): $1.40 with a minimum of 10 units*
• TrustFLEX for any LoRaWAN server (ATECC608A-TFLXLORAx): $0.938 with a minimum of 2000 units*
• TrustFLEX (ATECC608A-TFLXTLSx): $0.845 with a minimum of 2000 units units*
• TrustCUSTOM (ATECC608A-TCSTMx): $0.883 with a minimum of 4,000 units*
*uDFN (x = U) or SO8 (x = S)

The development tools available for the Microchip Trust Platform are:
• CryptoAuth Trust Platform Kit: $13
• ATECC608a Trust Platform Kit: $14

For more information and to purchase the products mentioned, please visit the Microchip shopping portal or contact an authorized Microchip distributor.

The tool is available completely online. 

In all cases, the customer generates their own key, not generated by Microchip or third parties.

Incorporating security into the design has almost no impact on the device's energy consumption, since most of the security is provided by the hardware.