An object-oriented open software architecture for security applications

This paper introduces a newly developed Object-Oriented Open Software Architecture designed for supporting security applications, while leveraging on the capabilities offered by dedicated Open Hardware devices. Specifically, we target the SEcube(tm) platform, an Open Hardware security platform based on a 3D SiP (System on Package) designed and produced by Blu5 Group. The platform integrates three components employed for security in a single package: a Cortex-M4 CPU, a FPGA and an EAL5+ certified Smart Card. The Open Software Architecture targets both the host machine and the security device, together with the secure communication among them. To maximize its usability, this architecture is organized in several abstraction layers, ranging from hardware interfaces to device drivers, from security APIs to advanced applications, like secure messaging and data protection. We aim at releasing a multi-platform Open Source security framework, where software and hardware cooperate to hide to both the developer and the final users classical security concepts like cryptographic algorithms and keys, focusing, instead, on common operational security concepts like groups and policies.