NXP’s EdgeLock SE051H SoC combines security protocols with the Matter Standard, which lets engineers build security into consumer devices.

A week prior to MWC 2023, NXP Semiconductors announced the EdgeLock SE051H, a secure element designed for Matter, adding to the industry’s broadest portfolio of Matter devices. The EdgeLock SE051H is an integrated NFC that simplifies the secure and seamless onboarding of Matter devices that enables smart home user experiences such as suggested automations, installation videos, and other content with a tap from an NFC-enabled phone.

The recently launched Matter standard, designed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), can ease device interoperability challenges in smart home networks. It increases smart home security through cryptographic key pairs, digital certificates, and other security-related hardware and firmware requirements.

According to NXP’s Philippe Dubois, the Matter standard was designed to recognize that security is essential to the future of the smart home. The single-chip EdgeLock SE051H lets engineers secure Matter-certified smart home devices. The IC’s integrated NFC improves the end user’s Matter experience, and lets device makers differentiate their products based on that user experience.

The EdgeLock SE051H is Common Criteria EAL 6+ certified and supports the cryptographic operations needed for a Matter-certified smart device. This includes Matter device attestation and certificate-based authentication with Elliptic Curve Cryptography and NIST P-256 curve, as well as the SPAKE2+ algorithm for password authenticated key exchange. It also includes key security functions such as Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm, Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman Key-sharing, and True Random Number Generator to protect the Matter protocol. In addition, the EdgeLock SE051H has an integrated NFC interface and Type-4 Tag capability.

Securing the Smart Home with Product Attestation
Matter’s security requirements include a device attestation certificate, which confirms device authenticity, demonstrates trustworthiness, and establishes an authenticated connection with the larger Matter network. NXP claims to be one of the first semiconductor manufacturers to have been granted trusted Product Attestation Authority status by the CSA, with its EdgeLock 2GO service providing a flexible platform for securely provisioning IoT devices. EdgeLock 2GO, combined with EdgeLock SE051H, can pre-inject credentials directly into silicon at silicon manufacturing or can deliver the credentials securely over-the-air (OTA) with end-to-end security to simplify supply chain management and in compliance with the Matter standard.