M
AN665
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Using KEELOQ to Generate Hopping Passwords
THE “HOPPING” ADVANTAGE
Author:
Lucio Di Jasio
Arizona Microchip Technology, Italy
Password-based access control systems are very pop-
ular today, but the level of security they provide are
often overestimated. Being basically a unidirectional
transmission, a password-based system has two very
important shortcomings which can lead to unautho-
rized access: the code is fixed, and the number of pos-
sible combinations is relatively low.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this application note is to demonstrate
Ò
how KEELOQ code hopping technology can be conve-
niently employed to implement an automatic code hop-
ping password generator/keypad. Using a PIC12C508,
the hopping code produced by an HCS300 is converted
to a string of 16 hex digits. This string is then trans-
ferred to the PC via the keyboard line, thereby emulat-
ing the actual pressure of a sequence of keys on a
The growing speed of communication lines and the
computing power of available systems increases the
chance of a brute force attack or “code scanning.” The
use of unsecure means of transmission, where code
“grabbing” is possible (i.e., a typical modem connection
over phone lines), can make the use of a fixed code
highly undesirable. Note that these are the same situa-
tion that led to the introduction of the “code hopping”
concept in the remote control market.
®
standard PC/AT keyboard. Since this conversion pro-
cess is transparent to any application, it appears as if
the user is simply typing on a PC/AT-type keyboard.
An ideal situation for implementing this application
would be in creating a “super password” for general,
access-control secure logins when transmitting infor-
mation onto the internet (i.e., through a browser) or a
Java applet.
The basic idea is to have the access code change each
time it is used through a sequence where the new
codes cannot be predicted even knowing a very large
number of previously used ones. Producing such a
sequence requires the use of a solid encryption engine.
Microchip Technology is currently offering a broad
range of encoders based on the proprietary KEELOQ
code hopping technology. These encoders make pro-
ducing a code hopping remote control easy, but as we
will see, can also be conveniently used to add the hop-
ping advantage to old password based access control
systems in a transparent way.
FIGURE 1: HCS300 AND PIC12C508 PINOUT DIAGRAMS
HCS300
PIC12C508
8
7
6
5
VSS
VDD
LED
PWM
VSS
S0
1
2
3
4
VDD
GP5/OSC1/CLKIN
GP4/OSC2
1
2
3
4
8
7
6
5
GP0
S1
S2
S3
GP1
GP3/MCLR/VPP
GP2/T0CKI
KEELOQ is a registered trademark of Microchip Technology, Inc.
Microchip’s Secure Data Products are covered by some or all of the following patents:
Code hopping encoder patents issued in Europe, U.S.A., and R.S.A. — U.S.A.: 5,517,187; Europe: 0459781; R.S.A.: ZA93/4726
Secure learning patents issued in the U.S.A. and R.S.A. — U.S.A.: 5,686,904; R.S.A.: 95/5429
IBM PC-AT, IBM and AT are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation
ã 1997 Microchip Technology Inc.
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