6.3.4 Hardware Security

PIC32CM MCUs offer a wide range of hardware security peripherals and features, such as:

  • Peripheral Access Controller (PAC)
    • Controls write access to peripheral registers to protect critical system resources
  • Memory Protection Unit (MPU)
    • Defines memory regions with access permissions
  • Device Service Unit (DSU)
    • Provides device identification and in-system programming support
    • Supports firmware updates and device authentication
  • Lock bits and security fuses
    • Disable debug/programming interfaces or lock memory regions, preventing unauthorized access to code and data

Other PIC32CM device families with Arm Cortex-M23 offer additional security features, either as stand-alone peripheral/features or integrated into a Hardware Security Module Lite (HSM Lite) peripheral:

  • Arm® TrustZone® support
    • Enables trusted execution environments, IP protection, and secure partitioning of resources
  • TrustRAM (TRAM)
    • Controls volatile secret data
  • Cryptographic Accelerators (AES, SHA, GCM, etc.)
    • Enable secure data encryption and authentication
  • True Random Number Generator (TRNG)
    • Generates high-quality random numbers for cryptographically secure keys
  • Secure boot
    • Verifies firmware integrity and authenticity before execution
  • Tamper detection (Anti-Tamper)
    • Detects physical tampering attempts and triggers protective actions for sensitive data
  • Device Identity Composition Engine (DICE)
    • Derives cryptographically strong device identities and keys
  • Physical Unclonable Function (PUF)
    • Generates unique and unclonable fingerprints

Refer to each PIC32CM device family data sheet for more information on the supported security features.