To say that I had a lot of meetings at Embedded World last week would be an understatement of titanic proportions, so I’ll be doing reviews of some of the products and technologies that I came across. One interesting product hailed from Maxim. The company introduced its MaxRefDes155# DeepCover embedded security reference design, which lets designers add crypto-strong authentication to protect IoT devices, while providing authenticity and integrity of small data transactions between the device and the cloud.

Using elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA) public-key cryptography, the MaxRefDes155# makes it easy to develop devices that can authenticate and manage a sensing node with control and notification from a web server or network controller. This lets you quickly collect and display the authenticated sensor data, and monitor endpoints being updated via secure communications with the cloud. The reference design is suited for IoT devices being adopted in a range of industrial applications, from factory automation to smart agriculture.

The MaxRefDes155# platform includes an Arduino form factor ARM mbed shield module and attached sensor endpoint. The shield contains a DS2476 DeepCover ECDSA/SHA-2 coprocessor, an LCD, push-button controls, status LEDs, and communications via Wi-Fi. The sensor endpoint contains a DS28C36 DeepCover ECDSA/SHA-2 authenticator, IR thermal sensor, and aiming laser for the IR sensor. The reference design is equipped with a standard shield connector for immediate testing using an mbed board.

The board is available immediately for $125, and hardware and firmware design files can be downloaded for free. There’s also a video available that describes the board.