SiFive Announces New SiFive Shield For Modern SoC Design

Linley Fall Processor Conference Presentation Details New SiFive IP For Secure SoC Designs

SAN MATEO, Calif. - October 23rd, 2019 - SiFive, Inc., the leading provider of commercial RISC-V processor IP, today announced the release of SiFive Shield, a class-leading new platform security architecture. Introduced at the Linley Fall Processor Conference, the industry’s premier processor event, SiFive Director of Security Dany Nativel detailed the new SiFive Shield and SiFive WorldGuard solutions for designing and implementing security in modern SoCs.

SiFive Shield

SiFive Shield is an innovative new approach to SoC design, offering a whole SoC approach to security that enables secure lifecycle management, reduces trusted computing base, and offers a clear root-of-trust. Modern SoC designs require scalable security architectures with greater isolation than today’s offerings to ensure continuous protection. With fine-grain controls and system-level security the SiFive Shield open platform architecture enables a secure SoC that utilizes an auditable software stack to ensure trustability. The SiFive Shield platform offers FIPS verified true random number generation (TRNG), fault detectors and secure cryptographic engines.

SiFive WorldGuard

SiFive WorldGuard is a hardware-enforced fine-grain security model for isolated code execution and data protection. Multiple domains or worlds with configurable privileges inside each world offer SoC level information control with advanced isolation control, enabling data protection across multiple cores and other bus masters found in modern SoCs.

Securing The RISC-V Revolution

The rapid growth of intelligent IoT devices for Edge and End Point requires a modern SoC solution unencumbered with legacy design choices, able to offer fine-grain control and scale across multiple cores. SiFive Shield delivers on this modern requirement, with a low trusted computing base while keeping full compatibility with RISC-V ISA.

SiFive Shield enables secure lifecycle management with secure key generation, storage, and provisioning, to enable full lifecycle security. Open source secure boot with open source development software stack ensures trust in application development. Key elements of SiFive Shield are externally and/or community evaluated to ensure trust and operation.

“The introduction of the new SiFive Shield security solution is a pivotal moment for SiFive, and the RISC-V Industry,” said Naveed Sherwani, CEO, SiFive. “The availability of best-in-class security that is a scalable and configurable security solution and replaces legacy solutions with a modern, forward-thinking design enables SiFive to continue to win IP and SoC designs. SiFive partners and customers will be able to implement modern security principles into their next generation products to ensure data protection and trusted execution in the critical IoT, Automotive, and Data Center accelerator markets.”

About SiFive

SiFive is the leading provider of market-ready processor core IP and silicon solutions based on the free and open RISC-V instruction set architecture. Led by a team of seasoned silicon executives and the RISC-V inventors, SiFive helps SoC designers reduce time-to-market and realize cost savings with customized, open-architecture processor cores, and democratizes access to optimized silicon by enabling system designers in all market verticals to build customized RISC-V based semiconductors. With 15 offices worldwide, SiFive has backing from Sutter Hill Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Spark Capital, Osage University Partners, Chengwei, Huami, SK Hynix, Intel Capital, and Western Digital. For more information, www.sifive.com.