5.7.5 Security
The PIC16F, PIC18F, and PIC32CM MCUs offer different levels of hardware security. The following table provides a summary of available security features for each MCU architecture.
| Features/ Peripherals | PIC16 | PIC18F | PIC32CM M0+ | PIC32CM M23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Security Type | Basic | Basic | Essential | Advanced |
| Lock bits | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Hardware Secure boot | Software-based only | Software-based only | Software-based only | Supported |
| CRC | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Write Access Control | For system-critical registers
only through Configuration bits | For system-critical registers, and
memory regions through Configuration bits | All peripherals Integrated in Peripheral Access Controller (PAC) | All peripherals Integrated in Peripheral Access Controller (PAC) |
| Debug Support | ICSP™ (In-Circuit Serial Programming) | ICSP (In-Circuit Serial Programming) | Integrated in Device Service Unit (DSU) | Integrated in Device Service Unit (DSU) |
| TrustZone | N/A | N/A | N/A | Supported |
| Hardware Crypto | Supported in legacy PIC16F with KeeLoq® | N/A | N/A | Cryptographic Accelerators True Random Number Generator (TRNG) Device Identity Composition Engine (DICE) support Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) |
| Tamper Detection | N/A | N/A | N/A | Supported |
Refer to the PIC32CM Additional Features and Peripherals for additional information.