EMBEDDED PROCESSING ARCHITECTURES FOR SECURITY

Written by samayaranjan on August 8, 2012

In the past, embedded systems tended to perform one or a few fixed functions.The trend is for embedded systems to perform multiple functions andalso to provide the ability to download new software to implement new orupdated applications in the field, rather than only in the more controlled environmentof the factory. While this certainly increases the flexibility anduseful lifetime of an embedded system, it poses new challenges in termsof the increased likelihood of attacks by malicious parties. An embeddedsystem should ideally provide required security functions, implement themefficiently and also defend against attacks by malicious parties. We discussthese below, especially in the context of the additional challenges facedby resource-constrained embedded systems in an environment of ubiquitousnetworking and pervasive computing