Embedded Systems Design Europe - October 2007 - (Page 22)

Linux Employ a secure flavor of BY HADI NAHARI AND JIM READY Linux is popular for many embedded applications, but if your application requires it, make sure you put in the hooks to keep hackers out. Linux W ith the ever-increasing presence of Linux implementations in embedded devices, there’s a strong demand for deﬁning the security requirements, thereby augmenting, enhancing, and hardening the operating environment. Currently, an estimated 70% of new semiconductor devices are Linux-enabled; such a high growth rate is accompanied by inevitable security risks, hence the requirement for hardware-based trusted and secure computing environments. To provide the appropriate levels of protection, these environments are enhanced with mandatory access control (MAC) mechanisms. Meeting the emerging but nevertheless stringent security requirements for resourceconstrained embedded devices by establishing the trust-chain on hardware root of trust and deploying MAC mechanisms, requires balancing performance and control. This can be a particularly challenging task. The line that divides embedded systems from non-embedded systems (such as general purpose and personal computers) is becoming increasingly blurred. Whether the system has an elaborate user interface or operates under a resource-constrained environment, the identiﬁers we’ve used for categorizing these systems in the past are no longer sufﬁcient. Fueling this transformation is the availability of more computing power at a low cost; developers and manufacturers are interested in adding more functionality to devices that were traditionally either not capable of or not expected to have this quality (such as smart phones, hand-held devices, complex medical control systems, and navigation gear). The difﬁculty in satisfying the security requirements of a software package is proportional to its design complexity. The default access control method in Linux, also known as discretionary access control, is at best considered “insufﬁcient” for any security sensitive implementation, hence the increase in demand for MAC in recent years. Hardware Assisted Security (HAS) hasn’t been sufﬁciently standardized, and the industry still considers HAS to be in its infancy. However, HAS is one more item in the toolbox of security architects who need to provide solutions for fundamental problems such as establishing a trusted computing base using hardware-based root of trust, managing key material, and security governance of the system. 22 OCTOBER 2007 | embedded systems design europe | www.embedded.com/europe 022-023-024-025-026-027_ESDE.ind22 22 9/10/07 16:55:08 http://www.embedded.com/europe

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Embedded Systems Design Europe - October 2007 Contents Linux Set to Dominate Torvalds Updates Linux Kernel ARM Establishes Smart Card Foundry Program Emerson Buys Motorola's Embedded Comms Group LynuxWroks and TTTech to Cooperate on Avionics MontaVista CEO Looks for Acquisitions in Europe Ready: Multiprocessing Technology Provides Opportunity Automotive to Drive MCU Market New Supporters Join COM Express Group Analyst Weighs TI Versus Xilinx Versus PicoChip Cover Feature: Embedded Systems Security Has Moved to the Forefront Trace Exposes the Toughest Real-Time Bugs Employ a Secure Flavor of Linux Use an MCU's Low-Power Modes in Foreground/Background Systems Transporting Video Over Wireless Networks New Products Advertising Contacts

Embedded Systems Design Europe - October 2007

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