Automotive secure element for smart key fobs for keyless entry

NXP Semiconductors now offers the NCJ37x Secure Element (SE), an automotive-qualified secure microcontroller with advanced cryptographic accelerators and physical built-in electrical attack resistance for multiple security-critical automotive applications, including smart access key fobs, Qi 1.3 authentication or car-to-cloud communication. The device supports the protocols from the CCC, and its passive NFC ISO 14443-4 interface and highly secure design approach satisfy the demands of next-generation smart fobs combining UWB, BLE, and passive NFC technologies.

The new SE works with the company's NCJ38x car-side SE and corresponding secure applets. The passive ISO 14443-4 NFC, SPI, and I²C interfaces help to provide robust protection against the latest attack scenarios and an extended feature set for a wide range of secure in-car applications entering the market needing the secure processing of sensitive data.

"The NCJ37x supports the digitalisation trends of next-generation access systems with a very high level of security in the industry," said Rainer Lutz, director Digital Key and NFC at NXP Semiconductors. "A dedicated smart fob applet compatible with the CCC digital key protocol is the smart choice for designing the next-generation smart fobs. NXP's NCJ37x is another step towards advancing security in smart connected cars."

The solution provides the highly flexible JCOP, Trust Provisioning service and secure OTA updatability. The SE provides enhanced Common Criteria EAL 6+ certified security for a wide range of automotive applications, including car access, driver authorisation, CCC digital key, C2C communication, and Qi 1.3 authentication. The passive, or powered-by-the-field, NFC interface is useful as a backup if the fob battery is drained. With 600kb of secure flash, it offers sufficient memory to enable a multi-service approach considering multiple active security domains and apps on the device.