The Mach-NX FPGAs, building on the capabilities of the MachXO3D family unveiled in 2019, deliver heightened security features as well as the fast, power-efficient processing required to implement a real-time Hardware Root-of-Trust (HRoT) on future server platforms, as well as computing, communications, industrial, and automotive systems. The Mach-NX marks the third FPGA family developed on the Lattice Nexus FPGA platform in the past year.
“The race is on between bad actors trying to exploit firmware vulnerabilities and developers designing server platforms with the security features and performance to stop them,” said Patrick Moorhead, president and founder of Moor Insights & Strategy. “Protecting systems requires a real-time HRoT with support for stronger cryptography algorithms like ECC 384 and new, robust data security protocols like SPDM.”
Commenting Esam Elashmawi, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Lattice, added: “Securing systems against unauthorised firmware access goes beyond establishing a HRoT at boot. It also requires that components used to build the system are not compromised as they move through the global supply chain. When combined with the additional protection afforded by our SupplyGuard security service, Lattice Mach-NX FPGAs can protect a system throughout its entire lifecycle: beginning at the time components start moving through the supply chain, through initial product assembly, end-product shipping, integration, and throughout the product’s operational lifetime.”
The Mach-NX FPGAs combine a secure enclave (an advanced, 384-bit hardware-based crypto engine supporting reprogrammable bitstream protection) with a logic cell (LC) and I/O block.
The secure enclave helps secure firmware, and the LC and I/O block enable system control functions such as power management and fan control. These FPGAs can verify and install the over-the-air firmware updates that keep systems compliant with evolving security guidelines and protocols.
The Mach-NX FPGA’s parallel processing architecture and dual-boot flash memory configuration provide almost near instantaneous response times, which are needed to detect and recover from attacks (a level of performance beyond the capabilities of other HRoT platforms like MCUs).
Mach-NX FPGAs will support the Lattice Sentry solutions stack, a robust combination of customisable embedded software, reference designs, IP, and development tools to accelerate the implementation of secure systems compliant with NIST Platform Firmware Resiliency (PFR) Guidelines (NIST SP-800-193).
