from riscv.org, Oct. 01, 2019 –
As the number of connected devices skyrockets, the attack surface also increases. To solve the growing challenge of mitigating cybersecurity threats, every component in a system must be evaluated for its vulnerabilities. Processors today are able to run billions of instructions per second - this means you can access a world of content at your fingertips, but there's also a risk of exploitation. Every processor requires built-in security features to keep systems safe.
A few months ago, we launched the RISC-V Soft CPU contest sponsored by RISC-V Foundation members Microchip Technology and Thales. Designers were challenged to develop a hardware secure RISC-V soft CPU solution that could thwart malicious software security attacks. The contest showed that simple mitigations can be integrated into designs to provide improved security. The contest also highlighted how the simple and flexible RISC-V architecture is ideal for securing the IoT. You can read about the rules of the contest at GitHub.
At the RISC-V EMEA Roadshow event in Paris on Sept. 24, Bertrand Tavernier of Thales announced the RISC-V Soft CPU contest winners. Each of the winning projects successfully mitigated five classical security attacks.