Microchip's ATECC508A features a wide array of defense mechanisms specifically designed to prevent physical attacks on the device itself or logical attacks on the data transmitted between the device and the system. Hardware restrictions on the ways in which keys are used or generated provide further defense against certain styles of attack. Due to the flexible command set of the ATECC508A, these basic operation sets (for example, ECDSA signatures, ECDH key agreement, and SHA-256 challenge-response) can be expanded in many ways.

The ATECC508A implements a complete, asymmetric (public/private) key cryptographic signature solution based upon elliptic curve cryptography and the ECDSA signature protocol. The device features hardware acceleration for the NIST standard P256 prime curve and supports the complete key life cycle from high-quality private key generation to ECDSA signature generation, ECDH key agreement, and ECDSA public key signature verification. Each ATECC508A ships with a guaranteed, unique, 72-bit serial number.

The Microchip ATECC508A is a member of the Microchip CryptoAuthentication family of crypto engine authentication devices with highly secure hardware-based key storage. The ATECC508A has a flexible command set that allows use in many applications.