Physical tamper-resistant devices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Physical tamper-resistant devices - Essay Example As stated by Brain Gladman â€Å"it is fairly easy to create an encryption methodology that is safe, if it is functioning as intended and is correctly utilized. But it remains very hard to develop a methodology which does not compromise its security in circumstances whereby it is either abused or one or several of its subcomponents malfunction† (Gladman 2001, p. 4). Physical tamper resistance is a characteristic or security concept that is applicable to various fields and not limited to the digital area or computing. Anti-tamper device comprises of tamper detection, tamper responses, and tamper resistance (Rannenberg et al. 2010, p. 16). Various Physical tamper-resistant devices exist. These include high-end, low-end, and mid-range devices. However, one aspect worth noting is that these devices vary in cost and range classification in various countries. For example, China can cost and categorize a tamper resistance device according to geographical boundaries. Below is the list: Just like the 4785 IBM, these resistant devices are of a very strong crypto system that is surrounded with a tamper sensing mesh. If an attempt at tampering is noticed, the mesh permanently deletes the main material and renders the device unrecoverable as well as unreadable. This device is significant for two reasons. Firstly, it is the only available commercial processor to have been successfully evaluated at the highest stages of tamper resistance. Secondly, the IBM 4758 has an extensive literature concerning its history, design evolution, protective procedures (Gladman 2001, p.3). These kind of resistant devices comprise of a symmetric cryptosystem key. These devices are normally protected against unauthorized reads, and the procedures are designed on a very basic foundation. Cheap Microcontrollers are one of the examples of low-end resistant devices.