Silicon Root of Trust (RoT) and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) are essential technologies for ensuring the security of devices and networks. When building a public key infrastructure (PKI) technology into a semiconductor hardware root of trust (RoT) device, there are several important considerations that should be taken into account. Here are some of the key considerations:

1. Secure Key Management: Since the RoT device is responsible for generating and storing private keys for the PKI, it is important to ensure that the key management is secure. The system must think through the entire device lifecycle and plan appropriately for certificate renewal and decommissioning events.
2. Physical Security: The RoT device should be designed with physical security in mind. This includes measures such as tamper-resistant packaging, secure boot, and secure storage of sensitive data. These devices will likely be subject to physical control by adversaries at some point, so the physical security architecture must be designed to account for this risk.
3. Compliance: The PKI technology should be designed to comply with relevant standards and regulations, such as FIPS 140-2, Common Criteria, and GDPR.
4. Interoperability: The PKI technology should be designed to work with other PKI systems and applications, to ensure interoperability across different environments. PKI is a well-established technology and many standards exist for it. Choose the standards appropriate for your industry segment.
5. Scalability: The PKI technology should be designed to scale as the number of devices and users grows. This includes ensuring that the RoT device can handle large volumes of requests for certificate issuance, validation, and revocation.
6. Ease of Use: The PKI technology should be designed with ease of use in mind, to ensure that it is easy for developers and users to integrate and use the PKI system. In embedded, remote, and IoT implementations there it is rarely feasible for direct human interaction with devices, so a machine-to-machine management approach should be used.
7. Resilience: The PKI technology should be designed to be resilient to attacks and failures, to ensure that the RoT device can continue to function even in the face of adversity. Consider the impact of a breach involving your trusted root keys, and plan appropriately to balance cost and risk.

Building a PKI technology into a semiconductor hardware RoT device requires careful consideration of security, compliance, interoperability, scalability, ease of use, and resilience. SecureG can help you build a PKI system that is secure, trustworthy, and scalable for your semiconductor devices. Contact us today to discuss how SecureG’s PKI solution can secure your products.