VIA PadLock Strengthens Security for JAVA™ Applications

Security of information transmitted and stored on notebooks and PCs has become a forefront issue in computing. Hackers use online banking, e-trading and email data transmitted across the Internet and stored locally to steal valuable personal and company identity information. The consequences of this theft can be devastating, with an average victim losing US$ 3,968 per instance (CNETNews.com). To help combat this threat, VIA introduced the VIA PadLock Security Engine into its recent range of processors. Designed to assist developers in providing better protection for users against security threats, the VIA PadLock Security Engine enables real-time military-grade encryption of data stored and transmitted, with little processor utilization.

As part of the VIA PadLock Security Initiative, VIA has developed, since its inception in 2003 a variety of tools that use the power of the VIA PadLock Security Engine to enhance and extend military-grade protection to information transmitted or stored. The latest addition to this suite of tools is the VIA Java Cryptographic Service Provider, an add-on package to JAVA Runtime Environment that accelerates and strengthens the existing JAVA security functions. JAVA, a universal programming language used in many desktop and web applications, empowers ubiquitous computing by allowing developers to create code that can run on any computing device, regardless of operating system. This is made possible by the JAVA Runtime Environment, a small virtual machine that translates code to the natural language of the device it is running on.

Within the framework of the JAVA Runtime Environment there exists the JAVA Cryptography Architecture, which is a set of standard cryptographic functions that offer developers the ability to easily add security to their application. Using the open standards of the JAVA community, this architecture can be localized to the type of device it is running upon allowing it to take advantage of the machines efficiencies.

VIA JAVA Cryptographic Service Provider (VIA JCP)

VIA has released a JAVA Cryptographic Service Provider for the JAVA Runtime Environment called the VIA JCP, which utilizes the strength and power of the VIA PadLock Security Engine in VIA C7-M, Eden or C3 processors (C5XL, C5P & C5J cores). When installed onto a VIA processor based notebook or PC, the VIA JCP enhances security for JAVA applications, through the utilization of the on-die military-grade real-time security engine, that speeds up and strengthens the quality of encryption and key generation used in transmission or execution of data. Giving users of JAVA based web & PC applications on VIA C7-M, Eden or C3 processor based notebooks and PCs, peace of mind that their hardware is making it harder for hackers to steal their personal documents, financial information and photos, transmitted or stored.

Applications that use JAVA based technologies, and could benefit from the increased protection offered by the VIA JCP, include online banking & financial trading websites, secure peer to peer file transfer applications, secure email, VoIP and Video on Demand services.

AES Encryption

The VIA JCP accelerates and strengthens two key functions of the JAVA Cryptography Architecture that is used by many JAVA applications to secure information: cipher using the AES algorithm and secure random number generation.

Included within the VIA PadLock Security Engine is the world fastest x86 security engine that encrypts/decrypts data using the AES algorithm at sustained rates up to 22Gbs with key sizes of 128-bit, 196-bit and 256-bit using EBC, CBC, CFB and OFB modes. To enhance the speed and strength of security, the VIA JCP offloads the computational process used by JAVA desktop and web applications when employing the AES cipher to this security engine, which in turn accelerates AES encryption by up to 90 times, empowering real-time protection of information stored or transmitted, with little or no increase in processor utilization.

Secure Random Number Generation

Also enhanced within the JAVA Runtime Environment by the VIA PadLock Security Engine, is the Secure Random Number Generator function of the JAVA Cryptography Architecture. Again, using the power of the world's fastest x86 security engine, the VIA JCP offloads the process of random number generation to the quantum based random number generators included within the VIA PadLock Security Engine. These hardware based random number generators make it more difficult for hackers to reverse engineer an application's public & private keys (which are used to protect user data exchanged across the Internet), by capturing the quantum interaction of sub-atomic particles to deliver statistically unpredictable numbers in real-time.

Easy to Install & Use

To increase the speed and strength of security used by JAVA desktop and web applications, simply download and install the VIA JCP onto any VIA processor based system that is powered by a VIA C5XL, C5P or C5J core and uses Microsoft® Windows® or Linux with the JAVA Runtime Environment. Installation is an automated process, and once complete will strengthen and speed up security for JAVA based desktop and web applications that utilize AES cipher and Secure Random number generation functions of the Java Cryptography Architecture.

The VIA JCP can be downloaded for Microsoft Windows and Linux at http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=22&DSCat=162&DCatType=1

The JAVA Runtime Environment is available for download from http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp

How the VIA JCP Works

JAVA is one of the more common technologies used today for the transportation and execution of data & services on computing devices. Developers choose to create applications with JAVA, in part, for its ability to operate and transmit data onto almost any computing device, regardless of operating system. This platform independence is a result of the JAVA virtual machine, a part of the JAVA Runtime Environment that resides on any machine supporting JAVA. The JAVA virtual machine is designed to capture JAVA code executing on a device and translate it to the local machine's own language, enabling developers to generate platform independent code for PC & Web based applications. In turn, allowing developers to write, execute and transmit applications and data without modifying code for individual computing devices and operating systems.

The JAVA Runtime Environment communicates with the operating system and executes code on behalf of the JAVA Application. A call is made by the JAVA Runtime Environment whenever a JAVA application wishes to execute a JAVA Cryptography Architecture based security function, to the VIA JCP.

To enable the feature set of the VIA PadLock Security Engine, users need only install the VIA JCP. Once installed, any JAVA Cryptography Architecture function that utilizes a AES based cipher or requires secure random number generation will where possible, offload the computational process to the VIA PadLock Security Engine. Which enables JAVA applications to process the calculations required to protect data in real-time with minimal processor utilization, which allows developers to implement stronger security without a hit to performance.

For a technical review of the VIA JCP please visit here http://community.java.net/embeddedjava/