Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT


SDK secures over-the-air firmware updates

5 October 2016 Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT

Nordic Semiconductor announced that its latest nRF5 SDK v12.0 supports secure and signed over-the-air device firmware updates (OTA-DFU) to strengthen application updates from potentially damaging malicious device upgrade attacks by using secure signatures to authenticate that only updates coming from a verified and trusted source can be made on a given device.

In operation, a classic public/private key security structure is employed, whereby public keys are distributed and private keys remain solely with the sending party, thus ensuring one-to-one security. Using ciphers to create keys in the Nordic nRF5 SDK v12.0 can be done in various ways and the company invested great effort in allowing developers flexibility to create ciphers in whichever way they prefer. This includes Nordic-authored examples using, for example, ECDH using the P256 curve to establish secure connections in Bluetooth low energy. The company has also reserved two dedicated 16-bit UUIDs with the Bluetooth SIG for use with signed and unsigned firmware.

Nordic also supports secure DFU application development with a suite of cross-platform PC tools and additionally mobile tools for Android and iOS. Furthermore, if a secure OTA-DFU is interrupted, a resume-from-failure feature is said to allow updates to resume from the last known good point and complete instead of restarting the entire upgrade process from scratch.

Additional features of the Nordic nRF5 SDK v12.0 include support for Arduino development kits used with the Nordic nRF52832 System-on-Chip (SoC)-based Arduino Primo base board.

For more information contact Andrew Hutton, RF Design, +27 (0)21 555 8400, [email protected], www.rfdesign.co.za



Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Industrial Ethernet time sensitive networking switch
RS South Africa Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The ADIN3310 and ADIN6310 are 3-port and 6-port Gigabit Ethernet time sensitive networking (TSN) switches with integrated security primarily designed for industrial Ethernet applications.

Read more...
When it comes to long-term reliability of RF amplifier ICs, focus first on die junction temperature
Altron Arrow Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
When considering the long-term reliability of integrated circuits, a common misconception is that high package or die thermal resistance is problematic. However, high or low thermal resistance, by itself, tells an incomplete story.

Read more...
Automotive-grade digital isolators
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The NSI83xx series of capacitive-based isolators from NOVOSENSE Microelectronics offer superior EOS resilience and minimal power noise susceptibility.

Read more...
Why bis means business for LTE Cat 1 IoT connections
NuVision Electronics Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Tomaž Petaros, product manager IoT EMEA at Quectel Wireless Solutions explains why the market for Cat 1bis IoT connections is getting busy.

Read more...
Wi-Fi in 2025: When is Wi-Fi 7 the answer?
iCorp Technologies Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Wi-Fi 7 introduces multi-link operation and lower latency, a game-changing feature that allows devices to transmit and receive data across multiple frequency bands simultaneously to significantly reduce network congestion.

Read more...
Bluetooth Lite SoCs purpose built for IoT
NuVision Electronics Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Whether it is enabling predictive maintenance on industrial equipment, tracking assets in dense environments, or running for years on a coin cell battery in ultra-low power sensors, developers need solutions that are lean, reliable, and ready to scale with emerging use cases.

Read more...
LTE Cat 1bis module
Otto Wireless Solutions Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The A7673X LTE Cat 1bis module from SimCom is engineered to meet the growing demands of the IoT industry, offering exceptional performance and seamless integration.

Read more...
Track with precision
Electrocomp Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
KYOCERA AVX provides innovative antennas for cellular, LTE-M, NB-IoT, LoRa, GNSS, BLE, UWB, Wi-Fi, and future Satellite IoT.

Read more...
Wi-Fi 7 front-end module
RF Design Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The Qorvo QPF4609 is an integrated front end module designed for 802.11be systems that has integrated matching, which minimises layout area.

Read more...
Multi-channel downconverter
Vepac Electronics Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The Downconverter from Crane Aerospace is a converter that operates from 2 to 18 GHz and delivers a noise figure of 11 dB with an attenuation range of 25 dB.

Read more...