Bill Frantz <frantz(_at_)pwpconsult(_dot_)com> writes:
On 8/13/15 at 6:32 AM, derek(_at_)ihtfp(_dot_)com (Derek Atkins) wrote:
Yes, these chips are not going away any time soon. The number of chips being
made with 6502 based cores has increased every year since the 80s. But the
problem with the chips isn't just that they are slow.
I'm not seeing 6502, but I am seeing a lot of 8051.
I think in the IoT space, we will need to have signed software
updates. I don't think there is much of an issue taking several
seconds to verify an update signature, but these 8 bit processors seem
like the right level of hardware for these IoT devices.
Yes, signed software is definitely one use case. However, often on
these systems it's more than just authenticating a software update;
sometimes it might actually want to check the signature on every bootup
(to prevent an attack on the flash/firmware)!
I'll note that there are alternate algorithms that run much faster than
ECC (e.g. Algebraic Eraser can run in the tens of miliseconds instead of
the ones of seconds of ECC)! However my real point is that we should
not ignore these platforms, and more specifically we should remember
that they might not have the power to run the same algorithms that work
fine on our x86-64 servers.
Cheers - Bill
-derek
--
Derek Atkins 617-623-3745
derek(_at_)ihtfp(_dot_)com www.ihtfp.com
Computer and Internet Security Consultant
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