3G phones ARMed to fight hackers and viruses

UK chip firm ARM is designing chips for mobile phones that require less power but contain antihacking and antivirus features

Because mobile phones are increasingly being used in the same ways as computers, chip designer ARM has moved toward increased security and scaled-down power consumption.

The chip designer has released a new microprocessor blueprint this week at the Microprocessor Forum that includes TrustZone, which is a security technology that prevents hacks and curbs viruses; and Intelligent Energy Manager (IEM), which slows the processor when not in use to conserve battery power.

The chip design - called ARM 1176JZ - is designed for 3G phones, which are being increasingly used to swap files on the internet and perform other functions usually associated with desktops, said Simon Segars, executive vice president of engineering at ARM.

"People aren't downloading much into their phones at the moment, but carriers are worried that someone could download something that could take down the entire network. Downloading music is another issue."

TrustZone in many ways functions like Microsoft's pending Next Generation Secure Computing Platform (NGSCP), formerly known as Palladium. Basically, TrustZone creates secure areas inside a phone that protect sensitive data or applications. Selected data, such as credit card numbers, are encrypted and can only be accessed, ideally, by the owners or trusted third parties. Likewise, viruses downloaded from the internet can't enter secure areas inside the phone.

Mobile phone makers and network operators have been demanding greater security, Segars said.

In addition to working with chipmakers who license its designs, ARM is working with major operating systems manufacturers such as Microsoft and Symbian, and handset manufacturers, to make sure the technology is adopted.

But 3G networks are also creating battery headaches. Consumers are used to extensive battery life on mobile phones: tens of hours of talk time from a single charge and a hundred hours of standby time are now expected. 3G phones change that.

John Cornish, director of product marketing at ARM, said: "The computing overhead to do 3G is massive. People expect colour screens, fancy user interfaces and all that… You can't just tweak the transistors anymore."

Among the power-saving techniques, IEM examines code coming into a processor and determines whether the processor speed needs to be increased, which would mean an increase in energy consumption, or whether it can be slowed. IEM also comes with a sleep mode that allows a handset to go dormant without wiping out the data in active memory.

Michael Kanellos writes for News.com