MELBOURNE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AuthenTec (NASDAQ: AUTH), a leading provider of security and identity management solutions, today introduced its new SafeZone™ secure platform solution for mobile and consumer systems on a chip (SoCs). With more and more devices offering network connectivity, it is imperative to protect these devices from both physical and logical attacks. The SafeZone Secure Platform solution allows chip makers and device makers to realize the benefits of hardware-based protection without incurring significant cost to adapt software applications to exploit advanced platform security.

SafeZone can be embedded in an SoC to safely protect the most important security assets stored within the device, including crypto keys for VPN and DRM security, biometric data and other sensitive cryptographic information. This highly modular solution enforces user identity verification and prevents device cloning, unauthorized rollbacks to previous OSs, and any alteration to applications. SafeZone leverages AuthenTec’s expertise in mobile and networking security and cryptography, and is part of the Company’s offering to ensure security and user identity from the client to the cloud.

The recent and dramatic growth in high-profile attacks on commercial and government systems is driving interest in products offering improved security. SafeZone Secure Platform offers a cost-effective modular design that allows chip and device vendors to easily adopt different levels of security across their product lines while providing an evolution path to future security upgrades. The SafeZone Secure Platform minimizes the cost and complexity of securing sensitive cryptographic keys and other stored assets, even if the device is subject to unauthorized access.

“Secure platforms are instrumental in insuring the integrity of system encryption keys and other valuable secure assets. Our new SafeZone solution leverages our experience in security and cryptography, and offers different configurations to address the needs of different market segments while minimizing the complexity of secure platform integration,” said Dr. Simon Blake-Wilson, Vice President of AuthenTec’s Embedded Security Solutions. “SafeZone can operate in pure software mode with existing hardware, basic hardware secure mode, and advanced hardware secure mode. This provides multiple options for customers with different feature sets and varying cost points.”

Key Features:

• Highly modular solution. Operates in pure software mode with existing hardware, basic hardware secure module, and advanced hardware secure mode.
• Small footprint, low gate count, and efficient power consumption.
• Security Middleware providing Secure Storage, PKCS#11, Certificate APIs to applications, and unified access to software or hardware crypto and security functions.
• Security Hardware features:

• Secure storage and management for protection of sensitive keys and assets
• Encryption and Hash engines to offload computational intensive symmetric algorithms
• True random number generator and Public Key Accelerator
• Root of Trust as true hardware interface to on chip non-volatile memory

AuthenTec’s SafeZone Secure Platform consists of the SafeXcel-IP-123 Crypto Module, SafeXcel-IP-150 Public Key Accelerator, Secure Asset Store, Secure Boot, and SafeZone software. The SafeXcel-IP-123 Crypto Module provides a closed execution environment with a security boundary and hardware crypto engines. SafeXcel-IP-150 Public Key Accelerator provides powerful modular mathematical operations required for Public Key algorithms such as RSA, DSA, and ECC. Secure Asset Store enables secure storage, usage and management of sensitive keys and assets, and Secure Boot ensures that only the software images from an authorized source are booted.

To address the difficulties of security integration across hardware, software and application layers, AuthenTec provides a unique middleware solution called SafeZone Software. SafeZone software includes comprehensive crypto libraries, a secure boot library, a secure storage library, digital certificate library, and a PKCS#11 API.

AuthenTec has posted a white paper entitled “Securing Highly Sensitive Assets with AuthenTec’s SafeZone Secure Platform” on the Company’s website.

AuthenTec's complete security offering includes fingerprint sensors, identity management software, hardware IP, and encryption software for mobile and networking applications. AuthenTec’s solutions ensure security and user identity from the client to the cloud, and are deployed by the world’s leading companies including Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Fujitsu, HBO, HP, IBM, Motorola, Orange, Samsung, Siemens, and Texas Instruments among many others.

About AuthenTec

AuthenTec is the world’s #1 provider of fingerprint sensors, identity management software, and embedded security solutions. AuthenTec security and identity management solutions address enterprise, consumer and government applications for a growing base of top tier global customers. Already shipped on hundreds of millions of devices, the Company's smart sensor products, software and embedded security solutions are used virtually everywhere, from the PC on your desk to the mobile device in your hand to the server in the cloud. AuthenTec offers developers and users secure and convenient ways to manage today's rapidly evolving digital identities and security needs. For more information, visit www.authentec.com or follow us at twitter.com/authentecnews.

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