Q: What is the greatest design challenge when it comes to developing mobile medical device technology?
Security threats to mobile medical devices are a growing concern and software security alone is not enough. For example, a key attack vector in the healthcare industry is user-accessible devices associated with patient monitoring. Software security, alone, has proven inadequate to protect mobile medical devices against known threats. However, today’s FPGA SoCs can be used to implement a scalable security scheme that extends all the way down to the IC level. The optimum hardware and software solution combines design security, hardware security, and data security. Design security is most critical. This includes IP protection and ensuring that configuration bit streams be encrypted and protected. Devices also need certified resistance to differential power analysis (DPA) attacks to ensure accessible hardware is secure from key extraction. Examples of hardware security include ensuring the code the board is running is authentic and the supply chain which built the product is secured. The last type of networked-device security is data security, ensuring that communications into and out of the device are authentic and secure. Look for an FPGA SoC that has all three types of security, design security, hardware security and data security.
