CYPRIS (microchip)


CYPRIS was a cryptographic module developed by the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories. The device was designed to implement NSA encryption algorithms and had a similar intent to the AIM and Sierra crypto modules. However, the principal references date back to the late 1990s and it does not appear that the CYPRIS ever earned NSA's Type 1 certification, without which it could not be used to protect classified government traffic.

CYPRIS was designed to
address the cryptographic requirements of military software radios
and wireless systems. Designed under an NSA contract, CYPRIS was
optimized to implement a variety of
legacy COMSEC and TRANSEC algorithms
while enabling field upgrades to
new and emerging INFOSEC algorithms.
CYPRIS contains a high performance RISC
core, a reconfigurable hardware unit, and
a suite of programmable and automatic system
check features. Unprogrammed, CYPRIS is an unclassified, non CCI, exportable device; when
programmed it assumes the classification of its software.
Over 20 core cryptoalgorithms were developed on CYPRIS.