DAFCA Partners With Stanford Professor Dr. Per Enge on Signature Technology for Hardware Security and Microelectronic Cyber Security

Leading Provider of Post-Silicon Validation Tools to Use Location-Based Signatures to Secure Integrated Circuit Supply Chain
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FRAMINGHAM, MA-- April 13, 2009 -- DAFCA, Inc., the premier provider of software solutions that automate and accelerate post-silicon system-on-a-chip validation, today announced a licensing/assignment agreement with Professor Per Enge and his colleagues Dr. Sherman Lo and Dr. David De Lorenzo of Stanford's GPS Research Laboratory in the University's Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics. Under the terms of the agreement, the Stanford-based team will issue DAFCA an assignment of intellectual property and an exclusive license to use its GPS signature-related technology to help secure the supply chain for integrated circuits. DAFCA contributed to the initial development of the technology, of which Chairman Jim Kelley is a named co-inventor, and will serve as a partner with Stanford University's GPS lab for future research in this area.

Drs. Enge, Lo and De Lorenzo have developed key intellectual property that enables the use of the Global Positioning System to help secure supply chains that are vital to society. Challenges currently faced in the integrated circuit supply chain include the detection of counterfeit integrated circuits and of malevolent hardware functions that are introduced during circuit manufacture. The collaboration between DAFCA and Professor Enge's team will provide technology to secure the integrated circuit supply chain by using location-based signatures inserted into the integrated circuit at the time of manufacture.

"We are delighted to work with DAFCA on the use of our GPS location-based signature technology to help secure the manufacture of integrated circuits," stated Enge. "This is a vital challenge and we feel that the combined efforts of our research team and DAFCA can make important contributions to the future of the technology."

DAFCA is currently developing system and device security solutions based on its patented, reprogrammable fabric technology that will address critical areas of anti-tamper/system protection: sabotage and unauthorized use prevention, and counterfeit prevention and detection.

Kelley, who orchestrated the joint venture research project on behalf of DAFCA, stated: "We could not possibly have found a better suited partner for the task at hand than Dr. Enge and his team at Stanford."

DAFCA CEO Dennis Shepard added, "Dr. Enge and his colleagues have done impressive work in the field of GPS technology, and we are confident that our joint venture will further advance the development of new technology for hardware security and microelectronic cyber security."

Enge will also join DAFCA's science advisory board and will play an active role in the advancement of DAFCA's system and device security solutions.

About DAFCA

DAFCA, Inc. is the premier provider of software solutions that automate and accelerate post-silicon system-on-a-chip (SoC) validation by providing the unique ability to observe and control the devices' functional behavior. DAFCA's patented, reprogrammable fabric and ClearBlue™ tools enable semiconductor and systems manufacturers to more efficiently and effectively validate and secure complex circuits prior to volume production, resulting in dramatically lower development costs and accelerated time to market. Leading companies around the world, including Infineon, Qualcomm, Samsung, ST Micro and Toshiba rely on DAFCA's solutions to increase efficiency, reliability and service along the entire SoC design, integration and deployment value chain.