Blue-RiBBon Development

foR SecuRe, ReliaBle SyStemS

MARKET oUtlooK

2

MARKET oUtlooK

In the investment world, we’re familiar with “blue

chip stocks” – the solid, reliable choices that

consistently produce good returns, outperform

their competitors, and never succumb to wild dips

or corrections in the market. Every industry has

its blue chips, and every investor has their favorites.

In the technology world, there are also blue-

chip companies that supply the most solid, reliable,

and trouble-free components to their clients and

customers. Intel has been one of those blue-chip

vendors for more than 30 years, but its “portfolio”

recently got even better. With technologies from the

extended Intel family, embedded software leader Wind

River* and security pioneer McAfee*, Intel delivers

a one-two-three punch that is the envy of product-

development teams.

Greater than the Sum of Its parts

Everyone is familiar with Intel’s role in the personal

computer (PC) market, and how Intel’s breakneck

pace of progress catapulted PCs into the mainstream

industry they are today. Less well known is Intel’s role in

embedded systems, the electronics that surround us and

drive the global infrastructure. From factory automation

systems, to power generation, to wireless base stations,

and innumerable other ubiquitous systems, Intel chips

power everything from the everyday to the exotic.

Today’s embedded systems are as complex as

yesterday’s PCs. Indeed, sometimes they really are

like PCs, repurposed or redesigned to accommodate

different embedded, industrial, medical, or high-

reliability requirements. More often, however,

embedded systems are designed from the ground up

and are uniquely tailored to their purpose, whether

it’s monitoring a power substation or delivering

individual medical care. But regardless of a system’s

provenance, they all share some things in common –

and not all of them are good.

As embedded systems become more complex

and more ubiquitous, they also become more

vulnerable to failure or attack. The rise of widespread

wireless connectivity also leaves these systems

more exposed to outside attacks. In short, today’s

embedded systems need the same kind of cyber-

and anti-hacking protection as any computer. Maybe

even more so. It’s one thing to lose the data on a

PC to hackers. It’s another to have a power station’s

monitoring systems brought down, or to lose faith

in the security of a medical device, surveillance

system, or robot controller. Computer breaches can

cost money; insecure embedded systems can ruin

lives and careers.

That’s why Intel is at the forefront of securing

embedded systems with its three-part strategy.

First, there’s the secure silicon. Intel’s wildly popular

microprocessors include innumerable features

that make the chips themselves secure, robust,

and trustworthy. Second, Wind River provides one

of the industry’s most trusted real-time operating

systems and embedded software, giving embedded

programmers a safe and secure foundation for

their products. And third, McAfee’s industry-leading

security technology – which often goes far beyond

the familiar antivirus products – adds a tough layer

of armor around modern embedded systems. All

three complement one another to provide something

greater than merely the sum of their parts. The

Intel/Wind River/McAfee combination delivers

investment-grade components to engineering firms

in any market.

Secure Silicon

Intel’s security suite starts with Intel chips, of course.

For decades, the family of Intel® architecture (“x86”)

microprocessor chips has included security features that

Blue-RiBBon Development foR SecuRe, ReliaBle SyStemSMARKET oUtlooK

3

MARKET oUtlooK

other microprocessors just didn’t have. It starts with Intel

architecture’s four-level privilege hierarchy, which separates

all software into four distinct privilege levels, or rings.

Programs can’t move outside their ring, so low-privilege

programs can’t interrupt or interfere with higher-privileged

code. These rules are enforced in the silicon itself, so they

can’t be sidestepped, ignored, or thwarted by malicious

code. These privilege rings have been a part of every

Intel architecture processor for 20 years, with continual

enhancements and improvements over that time.

Then there’s the chips’ memory-protection units,

which prevent buggy (or malicious) programs from

overwriting memory, possibly corrupting data, breaching

security, or causing failures. Like the privilege rings, Intel

chips have offered memory protection for years, and it’s a

feature that programmers have come to reply upon. Intel®

processors also offer an execute-disable (XD) bit, a silicon

“on/off switch” that disables the ability to run arbitrary

software, one common vector for attacks. These features,

and plenty more, make Intel architecture’s processor

family a safe, secure, and reliable foundation for even the

most mission-critical systems.

Wind River* means Real time

But the security features don’t stop there. Even safe and

secure systems can fail. Bugs, programming mistakes,

and simple software errors can bring down a system

just as rapidly as a focused attack. That’s why reliable

commercial-grade software with built-in security

capabilities is so important for modern embedded

systems across market segments.

For more than 30 years, Wind River has been the blue-

chip standard with its real-time operating system (RTOS)

and broad portfolio of embedded software. First with its

VxWorks* product RTOS, later with its industry-leading

embedded Linux*, and now with its platforms for intelligent

systems, Wind River has been the preferred choice for

engineering teams with an emphasis on reliability and

robustness. From the early days, Wind River software has

been optimized for Intel architecture processors, and that

connection is even stronger today.

In addition to its runtime embedded software,

Wind River also provides top-grade development

tools for the programmers and engineers who have

to make these systems work. Wind River ’s tools

for development and debugging and its simulation

software can effectively make time stand still or even

run backwards, allowing programmers to find and fix

bugs in uniquely powerful ways. Development teams

can work remotely, even across continents, and

stay on the same page using full system simulators,

enabling around-the-clock development before

hardware is even available. It’s a whole new level of

full-system design, available now through Intel and

Wind River.

mcAfee* Security layerViruses, worms, Trojans, and assorted malware used

to be just the province of networked computers. But

now everyday embedded systems are subject to

the same attacks, and more. That’s why industrial-

grade security technology is required for every type

of medical, industrial, automotive, communications,

or aeronautic system. Any development team that

doesn’t design-in security from the outset is likely to

find itself starting over again, perhaps after a rude

introduction to their product’s security holes.

Design teams can leverage McAfee’s software-

based security in their own systems, hardening

embedded products against viruses, denial-of-service

attacks, network scans, Trojans, to name a few. The

company’s around-the-clock threat detection keeps

developersapprised of the latest outbreaks. Encryption

and filtering technology help keep threats from

Blue-RiBBon Development foR SecuRe, ReliaBle SyStemSMARKET oUtlooK

“McAfee* has been the

leader in computer

security for years, and

now that expertise is

focused on Intel-based

product development.”

4

penetrating the system in the first place. It’s like having

an entire company focused on protecting your system –

which is exactly what theydo. What embedded system

isn’t important enough to warrant that kind of security?

SummaryProduct development has always been tough.

That’s why engineers and programmers are highly

compensated, and why good program managers build

good teams that are productive and efficient. But

now, with always-on Internet connections, numerous

wireless standards, ubiquitous connectivity, real-time

demands, regulatory approval, and shorter product

life cycles, those jobs became tougher still. With that

solid foundation, developers can create new products

and new value. They can focus on their value-add, and

worry less about the basic details. Blue-chip companies

always were the best investment.

© 2013 UBM Tech, a UBM company. All Rights Reserved. © 2013 Intel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.Information in this document is provided in connection with intel® products. No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any intel-lectual property rights is granted by this document. Except as provided in intel’s terms and conditions of sale for such products, intel assumes no liability whatsoever, and intel disclaims any express or implied warranty, relating to sale and/or use of intel products including liability or warran- ties relating to fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, or infringement of any patent, copyright or other intellectual property right. A “Mission critical application” is any application in which failure of the intel product could result, directly or indirectly, in personal injury or death. Should you purchase or use intel’s products for any such mission critical application, you shall indemnify and hold intel and its subsidiaries, subcontractors and affiliates, and the directors, officers, and employees of each, harmless against all claims costs, damages, and expenses and reasonable attor-neys’ fees arising out of, directly or indirectly, any claim of product liability, personal injury, or death arising in any way out of such mission critical application, whether or not intel or its subcontractor was negligent in the design, manufacture, or warning of the intel product or any of its parts.Intel may make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time, without notice. Designers must not rely on the absence or charac-teristics of any features or instructions marked “reserved” or “undefined.” Intel reserves these for future definition and shall have no responsibility whatsoever for conflicts or incompatibilities arising from future changes to them. The information here is subject to change without notice. Do not finalize a design with this information. The products described in this document may contain design defects or errors known as errata which may cause the product to deviate from published specifications. Current characterized errata are available on request. Contact your local Intel sales office or your distributor to obtain the latest specifications and before placing your product order. Copies of documents which have an order number and are referenced in this document, or other Intel literature, may be obtained by calling 1-800-548-4725, or by visiting Intel’s Web site at www.intel.com.

aBout INTEL

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds

the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional

information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

Blue-RiBBon Development foR SecuRe, ReliaBle SyStemSMARKET oUtlooK

“The wisest investment a

product team can make

is to rely on the most

reliable and most secure

tools they can get.”