Modular Exponentiation Core

The Helion Modular Exponentiation core performs the Z = YE mod M computation which is at the heart of many commonly used Public-Key encryption schemes such as RSA, Diffie-Hellman, ElGamal, and the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) described in FIPS 186-2. These algorithms provide the strong encryption to facilitate key exchange and certificate-based authentication for communication protocols such as TLS/SSL and IPsec which are widely used for securing transactions over open networks such as the Internet.

Modular Exponentiation is an extremely CPU intensive computation which can present a significant overhead for embedded systems when these Public-Key algorithms are implemented in software. The Helion ModExp core has been designed to be highly efficient in ASIC, and to provide an easy to use and resource efficient means to perform hardware acceleration for applications which require a cryptographic key exchange.

• Implements the Z = YE mod M Modular Exponentiation function commonly used in Public-Key Cryptography
• Ideal for hardware acceleration of RSA, Diffie-Hellman, ElGamal or DSA
• Supports 192, 256, 384, 512, 768, 1024, 1536, 2048, 3072, 4096, 6144 and 8192-bit operands (configurable)
• Short exponents efficiently computed e.g. 180-bit for Diffie-Hellman
• Optional constant time operation to help protect against timing attacks
• Simple 32-bit RAM interface
• Choice of variants providing optimal area/performance trade-off
• Optimised for use in ASIC