Secure or encrypted EEPROM

[rv213]

encrypted eeprom

Don't know if this is the best forum to ask this question, please forgive me if it is not.

Does anyone know of an EEPROM that has secure or encrypted memory with a DLL?

The idea is to have a unique ID/configuration for each PCB that only talks to our application to prevent others from cloning our hardware. In our old product we used a dongle to protect the software but our hardware was copied.

We have a Cypress FX2LP USB microcontroller connected to Micron CMOS sensor. We intended to protect the hardware and software by installing a CryptoMemory EEPROM from Atmel but the device responses to the same hex address as the CMOS sensor. We decided not to use it because of the conflict. The neat part is the Atmel device communicated with the microcontroller via the I2C bus and had a small footprint. Their DLL was targeted at Smartcard readers so it might have been difficult for us to implement anyways (Mechanical Engineers).

Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Roberto

 

[CMOS]

secure eeprom

You can use PLDs (PAL/GAL) to store the unique key. The technique is to apply combination of inputs to PLD which will internally do some processing (your secret algorithm) and produce some result at output. To verify whether correct memory is installed, verify for many different combinations of input!
Since PLDs cannot be copied, your hardware will be secured. However interfacing with microcontroller will be little complicated than interfacing I2C memories.

 

[eidtech]

ftdi232r eeprom

From FTDI232R Datasheet...

FTDIChip-ID™ - Each FT232R is assigned a unique number which is burnt into the device at manufacture. This ID number cannot be reprogrammed by product manufacturers or end-users. This allows the possibility of using FT232R based dongles for software licensing. Further to this, a renewable license scheme can be implemented based on the FTDIChip-ID™ number when encrypted with other information. This encrypted number can be stored in the user area of the FT232R internal EEPROM, and can be decrypted, then compared with the protected FTDIChip-ID™ to verify that a license is valid. Web based applications can be used to maintain product licensing this way. An application note describing this feature is available separately from the FTDI website.