Atmel first to achieve FIPS 140-2 certification for trusted computing platform modules

SAN JOSE, USA: Atmel Corp. announced it is the world's first supplier to be awarded full FIPS 140-2 certification for its AT97SC3204 series of trusted platform modules (TPM).

With this rigorous certification, these products now provide customers the highest level of confidence in hardware security for smartphones, tablets, phablets and any other computing devices including those that contain Atmel microcontrollers.

FIPS140-2 certification was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the US government agency that works with industries to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards, to ensure that best security practices are implemented in security modules.

To achieve this certification, vendors must pass a stringent testing process performed by independent accredited Cryptographic and Security Testing (CST) laboratories with NIST serving as the final validation authority, validating test results and issuing certificates.

In this era of cloud computing and increased connectivity in the Internet of Things, devices are smarter and more connected. Security is a primary concern among every company within the computing supply chain as well as consumers. With Atmel's FIPs-certified AT97SC3204 trusted platform modules, designers can be confident that these flexible, easy-to-use modules offer the most secure hardware features for their embedded designs.

Modules are available in FIPS/flexible-mode which reduce supply chain complexity by supporting both standard and FIPS-mode platforms with the same device and part number. Modules with FIPS/flexible mode permanently set and lock the device into either standard or FIPS 140-2 certified mode during the platform/device initialization. Alternatively, Atmel is also offering pre-configured FIPs or standard-mode devices which simplify the initialization process.