The ex-structure of the FSB has developed a domestic cryptographic coprocessor

Import substitution should reduce the need for this company’s production chips.

The structure of the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media, which was previously part of the FSB, has created a cryptographic coprocessor with a key storage subsystem by order of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. According to the developers, this chip is an alternative to the development of the company Freescale Semiconductor. The need for a chip is about 10 thousand pieces per year.

The structure, the scientific and technical center Atlas, indicates in the documentation that the Russian product can be used within the framework of import substitution as an alternative to the system from Freescale Semiconductor on the P2020NSN2 chip and the C291 cryptographic co-processor, writes Cnews. Domestic chip began to develop in November 2015, and finished - in November 2017. The cost of the order amounted to 240 million rubles.

It is reported that the contract with Atlas was signed following the results of the competition for the implementation of thematic development work (R & D) under the subprogramme to improve the competitiveness of the domestic industry "Accelerated development of the defense-industrial complex." The Atlas competitor is the Research Institute for System Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“As a result of performing the R & D, a specialized single-chip computer has been developed, designed to perform cryptographic operations in accordance with state standards. The work was performed in full technical assignment, in the terms established by the state contract and adopted by the state commission, ”the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

As for the order itself, Atlas performed the work on creating a trusted special extra-large integrated circuit (VLSI) for building cryptographic information protection tools with enhanced speed, low power consumption and an embedded key storage subsystem — a hardware cryptographic module. The mass of the chip should be no more than 20 grams, its own resonant frequencies should not be below 100 Hz. Power consumption without external devices connected - 25 watts.

The finished VLSI was designed to calculate a digital signature using the GOST 34.10 algorithm for a curve with a 512-bit module at a level of at least 2500 operations per second, calculating a hash function using the GOST 34.11 algorithm — at least 2500 Mbit / s, data encryption using the GOST 28147 algorithm - not less than 2500 Mbit / s. It is worth noting that the development itself is a secret one; in carrying out all the work, Atlas was to be guided by the requirements of the law on state secrets. In addition, the company was obliged to comply with the requirements for the procedure for handling official information of limited distribution in federal executive bodies.

The Atlas Scientific and Technical Center has been a history since 1951. Initially, the organization was a pilot plant, developing new technical means of special communication service. In the early 1990s, the company received new tasks. For example, such a direction as the creation of secure information and telecommunication systems was mastered, new methods of protecting computer information were created, plus means of protecting data during transmission over communication channels.

But in 2004, the organization received the name "Federal State Unitary Enterprise STC" Atlas "of the FSB of Russia." In 2008, Atlas was transferred to the Ministry of Communications.

Not so long ago, Geektimes also reported on another Russian development - the domestic processor "Baikal", which is available for retail sale. The start of sales is scheduled for the first quarter of 2018. Then retail stores will receive the first batch of domestic chips. It should be noted that the processors will be sold as part of the evaluation boards of the BFK 3.1 family (functional control unit).

Before purchasing, the processor can be tested for free - in the laboratory of domestic electronics based on the data center of the VMK of the Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. Here you can evaluate the performance of the domestic chip, as well as solutions based on it. The processor, as far as is known, is created according to the MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages) architecture. It corresponds to the concept of RISC, that is, for processors with a reduced instruction set.