Transmeta Announces x86 Microprocessors with Embedded Security Features

Transmeta said it has received "first silicon" for a new Crusoe TM5800 processor chip that incorporates security technologies for wireless computing. The TM5800 chip will also reportedly protect sensitive data, deter intellectual property theft and deliver tamper-resistant x86 storage environments when used with appropriate software.

The new Transmeta security technologies will provide interfaces to the Crusoe architecture that enable both runtime and persistent secure storage of certificates, keys and other confidential information. As these storage facilities are within the Crusoe architecture, they are invisible to the x86-world, reportedly considered to be the 'ultimate' in tamper-resistant environments. Such robust capabilities are a direct benefit of Transmeta's unique hybrid software/hardware approach to microprocessor design. Transmeta's latest revision of its Crusoe processors will feature a hardware acceleration engine for the commonly used DES, DES-X and Triple-DES symmetric key encryption algorithms. Triple-DES is an encryption algorithm approved by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the protection of government data. This algorithm is not commonly used in the commercial arena to protect sensitive data due to its poor performance when implemented in software programs. Transmeta claims its hardware support for DES, DES-X and Triple-DES is designed to accelerate security applications such as file and disk data encryption, and the Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) algorithm commonly used in Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to secure both wired and wireless data transmissions. Transmeta will provide interfaces to this hardware encryption engine via cryptographic instructions that are an extension to the x86 Instruction Set Architecture. Named 'Transmeta Security Extensions' (TSX), these instructions support key preparation and the DES, DES-X and Triple-DES ciphers. TSX instructions allow programmers to leverage Transmeta's encryption acceleration hardware for greater performance when protecting secure data. According to Transmeta, the Crusoe TM5800 processor chip will be available for volume shipments in the second half of calendar year 2003.