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What I find quite strange is why no Android device seems to use a dedicated hardware encryption module to reduce overhead like iPhones have had since the 3GS. E

by curt15 11y ago

What I find quite strange is why no Android device seems to use a dedicated hardware encryption module to reduce overhead like iPhones have had since the 3GS. Even security-focused devices like the Blackphone are crippled by the lack of crypto acceleration (http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/09/paranoid-android-redux-going-dark-with-silent-circles-blackphone-2/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/09/paranoid-android-redu...). In comparison, iDevices are screaming fast even when fully encrypted (take a look at the storage numbers here http://www.anandtech.com/show/9686/the-apple-iphone-6s-and-iphone-6s-plus-review/7 http://www.anandtech.com/show/9686/the-apple-iphone-6s-and-i...).

yeukhon 11y ago
Is there a source to confirm iPhone is equipped with HSM? One theory is the low-end devices want to reduce cost, and furthermore, Android devices are manufactured and sold by more than one company. But you can argue the weakest will eventually participate or die.
- hollander 11y ago
  Well it was all over the news - the Secure Enclave uses a special chip with a unique encryption key hard burnt into it. It encrypts everything that is encrypted on the iPhone, and uses a different key for each app I believe.
- kossae 11y ago
  There are more details on the HSM in the iOS security guide here. https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf
  - yeukhon 11y ago
    This is HSM on the iPhone itself, or on the cloud side?
    - bpicolo 11y ago
      The iPhone itself
    - Karunamon 11y ago
      The phone itself. All of the encryption is done in hardware, not just for performance, but for resistance against physical attacks. The dedicated processor is nothing short of Fort-Knox-like if that paper is to be believed fully.
- ex3ndr 11y ago
  iOS always include hardware accelerated components for various tasks, for example voice, video encoding are super fast on iOS and super slow on high end androids. Androids traditionally doesn't have any hardware acceleration modules.
chimeracoder 11y ago
> What I find quite strange is why no Android device seems to use a dedicated hardware encryption module to reduce overhead like iPhones have had since the 3GS. According to the Android team, it's actually even faster to do it in software, at least with the SoC that the Nexus 5x and Nexus 6p use: http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/09/30/the-nexus-5x-and-6p-have-software-accelerated-encryption-but-the-nexus-team-says-its-better-than-hardware-encryption/ http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/09/30/the-nexus-5x-and-6p-... Comparison: https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/3839281?baseline=3823669 https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/3839281?b...

by curt15 11y ago

yeukhon 11y ago

Is there a source to confirm iPhone is equipped with HSM? One theory is the low-end devices want to reduce cost, and furthermore, Android devices are manufactured and sold by more than one company. But you can argue the weakest will eventually participate or die.

hollander 11y ago
Well it was all over the news - the Secure Enclave uses a special chip with a unique encryption key hard burnt into it. It encrypts everything that is encrypted on the iPhone, and uses a different key for each app I believe.
kossae 11y ago
There are more details on the HSM in the iOS security guide here. https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf
- yeukhon 11y ago
  This is HSM on the iPhone itself, or on the cloud side?
  - bpicolo 11y ago
    The iPhone itself
  - Karunamon 11y ago
    The phone itself. All of the encryption is done in hardware, not just for performance, but for resistance against physical attacks. The dedicated processor is nothing short of Fort-Knox-like if that paper is to be believed fully.
ex3ndr 11y ago
iOS always include hardware accelerated components for various tasks, for example voice, video encoding are super fast on iOS and super slow on high end androids. Androids traditionally doesn't have any hardware acceleration modules.

chimeracoder 11y ago

> What I find quite strange is why no Android device seems to use a dedicated hardware encryption module to reduce overhead like iPhones have had since the 3GS. According to the Android team, it's actually even faster to do it in software, at least with the SoC that the Nexus 5x and Nexus 6p use: http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/09/30/the-nexus-5x-and-6p-have-software-accelerated-encryption-but-the-nexus-team-says-its-better-than-hardware-encryption/ http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/09/30/the-nexus-5x-and-6p-... Comparison: https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/3839281?baseline=3823669 https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/3839281?b...