Dover Microsystems Brings Secure Silicon IP to DesignShare

CoreGuard enables security for SiFive-based host processors

SAN MATEO, Calif. – April 12, 2018 – SiFive, the leading provider of commercial RISC-V processor IP, today announced that Dover Microsystems, a cybersecurity solutions provider, is the latest vendor to join the DesignShare ecosystem.

Dover Microsystems will make available its CoreGuard Silicon IP, which comprises hardware technology that enables processors to defend themselves in real-time from all network-based attacks. With CoreGuard, system designers have assurance that their SiFive-based host processor is protected at the instruction level. CoreGuard prevents illegal instructions from executing before any damage can be done. Its security rules define the difference between legal and illegal instructions, and can be customized to meet the needs of a wide variety of systems.

“As the inventors of RISC-V and the industry’s first RISC-V based chip platform, SiFive is leading the way in the transformation of the semiconductor market,” said Jothy Rosenberg, CEO and co-founder of Dover Microsystems. “We are excited to partner with SiFive to bring secure computing to the RISC-V community. Our revolutionary CoreGuard technology goes far beyond traditional solutions by hardwiring cybersecurity directly into the silicon of the host processor to guarantee security, safety, and privacy.”

Any company, inventor or maker can harness the power of custom silicon with little to no upfront risk through the SiFive DesignShare program. To lower the costs of bringing a chip from design to realization, DesignShare partners like Dover Microsystems offer pre-integrated solutions that enable users to develop their prototypes without the investment in upfront engineering costs typically required.

“Dover Microsystems provides a new and unique security solution previously unavailable to the RISC-V community,” said Shafy Eltoukhy, vice president of operations and head of DesignShare at SiFive. “With CoreGuard as part of the DesignShare catalog, RISC-V users now have a secure computing solution available.”

Since DesignShare launched last year, the ecosystem has grown to include a wide range of IP solutions, from debug and trace technology to reconfigurable FPGA. For more information on DesignShare, visit www.sifive.com/designshare.

About SiFive

SiFive is the leading provider of market-ready processor core IP based on the free and open RISC-V instruction set architecture. Founded by RISC-V inventors Andrew Waterman, Yunsup Lee and Krste Asanovic, SiFive helps SoC designers reduce time-to-market and realize cost savings with customized, open-architecture processor cores, and democratizes access to optimized silicon by enabling system designers to build customized RISC-V based semiconductors. SiFive is located in Silicon Valley and has venture backing from Sutter Hill Ventures, Spark Capital and Osage University Partners. For more information, visit www.sifive.com.

About Dover Microsystems

Dover’s lineage began in 2010 as the largest performer on the DARPA CRASH program. In 2015, Dover began incubation inside Draper before spinning out in 2017.

Based in Boston, Dover is the first company to bring real security, safety, and privacy enforcement to silicon. Dover’s patented CoreGuard solution integrates with RISC processors to protect against cyberattacks, flawed software, and safety violations. For more information about the company, please visit www.dovermicrosystems.com.