Synopsys Public Key Accelerators

Public key cryptography, or asymmetric cryptography, is the foundation of secure communications, authentication, digital signatures, and software integrity. As quantum computing advances, traditional public key algorithms such as RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) will become increasingly vulnerable, driving an industry-wide transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC). With NIST PQC standards finalized and migration initiatives underway across governments, enterprises, and critical infrastructure, SoC designers must build quantum-safe security into today's platforms rather than treating it as a future upgrade.

Synopsys ECC/RSA Public Key Accelerators (PKAs) offload that work to dedicated hardware, executing the computationally intensive elements of RSA and ECC operations so your host processor doesn't have to. The result is faster key generation, signing, verification, and key exchange at a fraction of the power and processor load.

The portfolio also includes Synopsys Agile PQC PKAs, quantum-safe accelerators featuring NIST CAVP-certified PQC algorithms and supporting the latest standardized post-quantum algorithms:

• ML-KEM (FIPS 203) for key encapsulation and key establishment
• ML-DSA (FIPS 204) for digital signatures
• SLH-DSA (FIPS 205) for hash-based digital signatures
• XMSS and LMS (NIST SP 800-208) for stateful hash-based signatures

A hybrid hardware/firmware architecture accelerates computationally intensive cryptographic primitives in dedicated hardware while implementing higher-level algorithms in firmware. This approach delivers an optimal balance of performance and flexibility while enabling in-field updates as standards evolve. The Agile PQC PKAs also support traditional ECC and RSA operations, simplifying hybrid migration strategies and interoperability with existing security infrastructures.

Synopsys Agile PQC PKAs help designers prepare for NSA CNSA 2.0 migration by supporting the NIST-standardized PQC algorithms recommended for quantum-safe key establishment, digital signatures, and software and firmware signing, while maintaining interoperability with existing ECC/RSA deployments.

For safety-critical designs, Synopsys also offers an Automotive Agile PQC PKA variant, compliant with ASIL B / ISO 26262 functional safety and ISO/SAE 21434 cybersecurity standards.

Available as standalone IP cores, Synopsys PKAs enable secure, scalable, and future-ready cryptographic implementations across automotive, aerospace, defense, industrial, communications, Physical AI, cloud, and data center applications, protecting sensitive data and systems from today's threats and the quantum-era challenges of tomorrow.