Renesas Electronics introduces RX65N MCUS certified to NIST FIPS 140-2 security standard CMVP Level 3

     Renesas Electronics announced that the 32-bit RX65N microcontroller (MCU) has been certified at Level 3 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) FIPS 140-2 security standard Encryption Module Verification Program (CMVP), becoming the first general-use MCU product to achieve Level 3 certification.

     FIPS 140 is becoming the global security standard as a basic security requirement for governments, financial institutions, public and infrastructure applications. Level 3 certification is a high security level for tamper detection/response and identity-based for devices such as hardware security modules (HSM) and smart cards that are used to process financial information. Using certified RX65N MCUS makes it easier for customers to develop devices with robust and reliable security features, helping to reduce development effort and overall security risk.

     Sakae ITO, vice President of iot Platform Business at Renesas Electronics, said: "As more and more iot devices are connected to the network, the danger of malicious threats such as data breaches, tampering and fraud is increasing, and security is becoming more important than ever. CMVP Level 3 certification for RX MCUS means customers can build strong security into their products without the need for a dedicated security chip, which will help accelerate the development of secure iot devices."

     Renesas 32-bit RX65N is a general-purpose MCU with security, connectivity and human machine interface (HMI) capabilities for applications such as industrial and iot devices. The RX65N integrates a CAVP-certified Renesas Trusted Secure IP (TSIP) module (Note 2). TSIP includes encryption engines that support AES, SHA, RSA, and ECC, true random number generators (TRNG), and advanced key management for powerful security features. The RX65N features dual-bank flash memory and supports background running and flash block SWAP (SWAP) for secure and highly reliable firmware updates in system control or network devices to prevent program tampering.