Available Hardware Primitives

Abstract

In this chapter we discuss currently-available hardware security primitives with a focus on existing smartphone and tablet platforms. As the vast majority of these platforms are built for the ARM architecture, we first present a generic ARM platform hardware and security architecture, focusing our discussion on platform hardware components that help realize the features discussed in Chap. 3. We then identify design gaps and implementation challenges in off-the-shelf mobile devices that prevent third-party application developers from fully realizing the desired security properties. Finally, we provide two case studies of inexpensive mobile development platforms with myriad security features, to serve as references against which to compare mass-market devices.