The security landscape for embedded systems has grown more complex over the past decade. What were once isolated devices are now deeply connected to networks, cloud services, and critical infrastructure. This shift exposes embedded platforms to a wider range of attacks — from remote exploits to physical tampering.
Understanding the Critical Role of TPMs in Embedded Security
Relying solely on software-based protections leaves embedded systems vulnerable. If an attacker gains access to the firmware or OS, they may be able to bypass authentication checks, manipulate code execution, or extract sensitive data. Software defenses can be modified, overwritten, or disabled — especially if the device lacks a way to ensure its own integrity at startup.
Hardware root of trust with TPMs
A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) establishes a hardware root of trust. This means critical cryptographic operations — such as key generation, signing, or attestation — occur within a tamper-resistant chip, rather than in general-purpose memory where they might be exposed. By anchoring trust in hardware, TPMs prevent attackers from easily subverting security mechanisms, even if the operating environment is compromised.
Core benefits of TPM integration
Protected cryptographic keys: Keys are generated and stored within the TPM, never exposed in raw form to the CPU or memory.
Device authentication and identity: TPMs provide unique device credentials that support secure onboarding and network access.
Support for secure and measured boot: By verifying system integrity at power-up, TPMs ensure that only authorized firmware and software can run.
Tamper resistance: Hardware protection prevents extraction of secrets, even under physical attack.
Addressing real-world challenges
The value of TPMs becomes clear when applied to embedded systems in high-stakes environments:
Automotive: Protecting ECUs from malicious firmware updates or counterfeit parts.
Industrial control: Ensuring programmable logic controllers (PLCs) cannot be reprogrammed with unauthorized code.
IoT: Stopping device cloning and man-in-the-middle attacks by providing a strong, hardware-backed identity.
By anchoring trust in hardware, TPMs deliver the resilience that modern embedded systems require — something software alone cannot achieve.
Must Watch | On-Demand Webinar
For a practical look at how TPMs support secure lifecycle management, explore our on-demand webinar: Implementing Secure Software Upgrades in Embedded Systems: Best Practices and TPM Integration.
Core Components and Architecture of TPM Solutions
While TPMs are often described as “security chips,” their internal design is far more sophisticated than a simple key vault. A TPM combines specialized hardware circuits, cryptographic engines, and defined interfaces that together provide a robust framework for trust in embedded systems.
Essential hardware security features
At the foundation, a TPM includes:
Cryptographic accelerators for RSA, ECC, AES, and SHA algorithms, enabling efficient key generation, signing, encryption, and hashing.
True Random Number Generators (TRNGs) to provide entropy for secure key creation and session management.
Tamper-resistant design, making it difficult for attackers to probe internal signals or extract keys through side-channel methods.
These features ensure that sensitive security operations occur in hardware, isolated from the main system processor.
Platform Configuration Registers (PCRs)
PCRs are a defining feature of TPMs. These registers securely store measurements of the system state — such as firmware hashes, bootloader checksums, or OS integrity values.
When the device powers up, each component in the boot chain is measured before execution.
These measurements are extended into PCRs, creating a unique signature of the system’s state.
Applications, administrators, or remote verifiers can query the PCR values to confirm whether the system is running trusted code.
In effect, PCRs make it possible to link device behavior to its integrity at boot and runtime.
Secure key storage and management
Unlike software key stores, a TPM ensures that private keys never leave the chip unencrypted. Operations such as decryption, signing, or sealing occur internally. This prevents keys from being copied, dumped, or exposed during runtime.
Keys are protected even if an attacker gains root access to the system.
TPMs support hierarchical key structures, with a root storage key anchoring all others.
Access control policies can tie keys to PCR values, ensuring they are usable only when the system is in a verified state.
System integration points
TPMs connect to embedded systems through lightweight hardware interfaces such as SPI, LPC, or I²C, making them compatible with a wide range of processors and SoCs. Once integrated, the TPM works in tandem with firmware, secure bootloaders, and operating systems to provide:
Measured boot sequences
Secure credential storage
Hardware-backed attestation
By bridging hardware security with system-level design, TPMs offer a standardized, reliable way to enforce trust in embedded platforms.
TPM Implementation in Practice
Understanding the theory behind TPMs is one thing — embedding them successfully into real-world designs is another. Implementation requires careful attention to system integration, firmware workflows, and long-term device lifecycle management.
Secure storage of secrets
The most common use of a TPM is to protect sensitive assets such as device identities, private keys, or certificates. Rather than storing these in system flash or external memory, the TPM generates and safeguards them internally. Designers can also use sealed storage, which ties keys to specific Platform Configuration Register (PCR) values, ensuring they can only be accessed when the device is in a trusted state.
TPMs allow embedded devices to validate their state by checking PCR measurements. For example, if firmware is modified outside of an authorized update process, the resulting hash will no longer match the expected PCR value. In practice, this means the system can refuse to decrypt sensitive data or block network authentication until it is restored to a known-good state.
Authentication and encryption workflows
Beyond secure boot, TPMs strengthen device authentication and secure communications:
Keys stored in the TPM can be used to establish TLS sessions or sign attestation reports.
Session keys for encrypted data transfers can be generated on demand, reducing the risk of key reuse.
TPM-backed credentials prevent impersonation or cloning, which is a major concern in IoT deployments.
Best practices for integration
For embedded engineers, a successful TPM deployment requires thoughtful hardware and software co-design:
Pair with secure boot to provide layered assurance from power-up through runtime.
Leverage attestation to prove device integrity to cloud services or management systems.
Plan for recovery by implementing redundancy and fallback strategies in case of failed measurements or corrupted updates.
👉These integration choices often intersect with broader embedded system design trade-offs — whether deciding how to partition functions between hardware and software, or selecting the right interface (SPI, LPC, I²C) for minimal overhead. Our blog on Balancing Hardware-Software Partitioning in FPGA-Based Systems explores these considerations in depth.
Advanced Security Features and Capabilities
Once the fundamentals of key storage and attestation are in place, TPMs unlock a set of advanced features that allow embedded systems to operate with even stronger security guarantees. These capabilities are especially valuable in sectors like automotive, industrial automation, and defense, where resilience and trust are non-negotiable.
Secure boot and trusted computing
TPMs play a central role in establishing secure boot processes. By ensuring that every stage of the boot chain — from firmware to the operating system — is measured and verified before execution, they prevent unauthorized or malicious code from running. This “chain of trust” approach forms the foundation of trusted computing in embedded devices.
Authorization policies and access control
TPMs allow developers to define fine-grained authorization policies for cryptographic keys. For example, a key may only be usable when specific PCR values are present, or when a password or external authorization factor is provided. This ties system functionality directly to its integrity state and helps enforce strict operational security.
Sealing and unsealing operations
With key sealing, data is encrypted and bound to a particular TPM and device state. It can only be “unsealed” when the platform’s PCR values match the trusted baseline. This ensures that even if data is copied to another system or if firmware is altered, the secrets remain inaccessible.
Recovery and Fail Safe mechanisms
While TPMs add layers of security, they must also support reliable recovery paths. Common strategies include:
Maintaining backup keys with external protection mechanisms.
Implementing fallback firmware images that can re-establish trust if measurements fail.
Using TPM-protected counters or monotonic values to ensure rollback protection during updates.
By combining secure boot, controlled access policies, sealed storage, and reliable recovery, TPMs enable embedded systems to withstand both digital and physical attack vectors while maintaining operational continuity.
Real-World Applications and Use Cases
TPMs are no longer limited to PCs and enterprise servers — they have become a critical enabler of trust in embedded systems across multiple industries. Their ability to provide hardware-backed identity, secure storage, and integrity validation makes them well-suited for high-value applications where reliability and security go hand in hand.
Automotive systems
Modern vehicles contain dozens of Electronic Control Units (ECUs), each responsible for functions like braking, steering, or infotainment. Attackers targeting these systems may attempt to inject malicious firmware or spoof communications on the CAN bus.
A TPM can authenticate firmware updates, ensuring only trusted code executes on ECUs.
It can also provide a unique, hardware-backed identity for secure vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) communications.
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) devices are at the heart of manufacturing, energy, and utility operations. A compromised controller could result in production downtime or even physical damage.
TPMs prevent unauthorized code from being loaded onto PLCs.
They also provide attestation capabilities so operators can remotely verify that all devices are running trusted firmware.
👉 These requirements overlap with custom embedded system design services, where integrating TPMs alongside FPGAs or SoCs provides both processing performance and resilience.
IoT device security
IoT nodes are attractive targets for attackers since they are often deployed in the field with limited monitoring. Device cloning, man-in-the-middle attacks, and rogue network access are common risks.
A TPM gives each device a unique, immutable identity.
It enables strong authentication when devices connect to cloud platforms or peer networks.
Keys stored in the TPM protect communications and firmware updates against interception or tampering.
👉 This directly connects to Fidus’s work in secure IoT device development, where hardware-backed trust and low-level software integration are essential for scale.
Case studies of successful TPM deployments
Smart energy meters: TPMs protect firmware and authenticate remote updates, ensuring compliance with utility regulations.
Medical monitoring equipment: TPMs safeguard patient data by encrypting communications and validating firmware against tampering.
Each of these examples demonstrates how TPMs bridge the gap between theory and practice — turning cryptographic capabilities into tangible trust in embedded devices.
Future-Proofing TPM Security
While today’s TPMs already address critical embedded security challenges, the landscape continues to evolve. Designers must not only secure against current threats but also prepare for what lies ahead.
Emerging hardware security modules: TPMs are increasingly being integrated with System-on-Chip (SoC) platforms and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), reducing latency and simplifying system architecture. This tighter integration allows for lower-power operation and more seamless hardware-software coordination.
AI and machine learning integration: By combining TPM attestation data with AI- and ML-driven anomaly detection, security systems can identify unusual device behavior more quickly. This is particularly valuable in IoT networks, where subtle changes in firmware or communication patterns may indicate compromise.
Preparing for quantum threats: The rise of quantum computing poses a long-term risk to classical cryptography. Standards bodies and vendors are already exploring post-quantum cryptography (PQC) implementations that will eventually extend into TPMs. Forward-looking designs must ensure TPM support for PQC to protect devices with long lifespans, such as industrial and automotive systems.
Standards and certification: Regulatory pressure continues to increase, with standards like ISO/IEC 11889 (TPM specification), FIPS 140-3, and emerging industry-specific compliance frameworks. Staying ahead of certification requirements ensures devices remain deployable in regulated industries such as defense, energy, and healthcare.
For engineering teams, building with TPMs is not just about today’s security — it’s about ensuring long-term trustworthiness in embedded platforms that may remain in the field for a decade or more.
Conclusion
Trusted Platform Modules deliver a hardware foundation for embedded system security that software alone cannot provide. By safeguarding cryptographic operations, validating system integrity, and enabling trusted execution, TPMs help designers mitigate today’s threats while preparing for tomorrow’s.
For embedded teams, the decision to integrate a TPM is no longer optional — it’s a requirement for achieving resilience, compliance, and trust in connected devices.
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