The NTSecureGateway Shield96 is a good example of NewTec's platform strategy, as the 96Boards-compatible development board is based on our Secure Gateways. The goal: to develop a component platform for the secure networking of machines, vehicles or devices.
NewTec's Secure Gateways for secure communication feature a powerful microprocessor (Microchip ATSAMA5D27) with security functions such as encryption, a true random number generator (TRNG), tamper detection, Secure Boot and ARM TrustZone®, as well as an additional secure element (Microchip ATECC608) for even more powerful hardware encryption (Elliptic Curve Cryptography, ECC). Depending on requirements, we can configure this core solution flexibly, for example by adding different interfaces, additional functions and mounting options.
Our NTSecureGateway 1000 for industrial applications, for instance, communicates via Ethernet, USB, WLAN, BLE, CAN and RS485/Modbus (optionally also NarrowBand IoT, LoRa or LTE) and supports the MQTT and OPC UA standards. Customers can use such a solution out of the box or as the basis for individual developments. It was therefore an obvious choice to use it as the foundation when it came to developing a 96Boards-compatible security development board.
Cooperation with Arrow
We developed the NTSecureGateway Shield96 together with Arrow Electronics. Arrow's portfolio of industrial IoT solutions still lacked a development platform for proof-of-concept developments, rapid prototyping and testing of IoT solutions that had been designed from the ground up with a focus on security. Arrow Electronics is a global distributor and provider of electronics solutions for industrial and commercial applications. Founded in 1935 as a radio retail shop in Manhattan, Arrow now ranks 102nd among the largest US companies (Fortune 500).
96Boards-compatible development board
The Shield96 was launched at the end of 2019. Its name already indicates the solution's special feature: it complies with the 96Boards specifications (IoT Edition Extended Version), thereby enabling existing 96Boards expansions (mezzanine cards) to be used for secure IoT applications.
The "96Boards" programme of the British development company Linaro comprises various platform specifications (Consumer, Enterprise, IoT, SoM) for low-cost, compact ARM development boards. Thanks to standardised expansion buses, there is also a wide range of compatible expansion cards that work on every 96Boards product – including our Secure Gateway.