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MStar to Include Cryptography Research’s CryptoFirewall Security Core in Connected TV Chips

Enables first IP core-based, advanced security for smart TV market; fully compatible with existing CAS and DRM, providing most stringent security for premium content

San Francisco, Calif. and Hsinchu, Taiwan — August 28, 2014 —Cryptography Research, the security division of Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS), today announced that MStar Semiconductor, Inc., a leading semiconductor company for display and digital home solutions, has licensed the Cryptography Research CryptoFirewall™ security core for integration into its connected TV solution chips. The CryptoFirewall core will provide operators and over-the-top (OTT) distributors utilizing MStar-based connected TVs with strong hardware security to protect content and services against piracy.

The proliferation of OTT content, along with the market opportunity for “smart” connected televisions, has created a need for security solutions that not only offer robust protection on par with set-top-boxes, but also work across broad ecosystems. Through adding in the CryptoFirewall core, MStar is taking a differentiated approach by integrating a provider-agnostic security block that resides within the SoC, available for all service providers. Operators and OTT distributors can benefit from hardware-based security that satisfies the most stringent requirements for premium content, all while continuing to use their existing CAS and DRM systems.

“Increasingly, consumers want the convenience of viewing all their preferred content from their connected TV. To enable this flexibility, connected TVs must work with multiple operators and OTT distributors using different CAS and DRM systems. The CryptoFirewall security core supports this complex requirement in a unique and innovative way,” said Wayne Tsai, Marketing Director, MStar. “The CryptoFirewall security core delivers both strong hardware security and multi-operator flexibility in our next-generation chips and seamlessly integrates with MStar’s TEE environment.”

“With its proven history of delivering end-to-end semiconductor solutions for TV and impressive market share, MStar will be able to revolutionize security in the connected TV market,” said Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist of the Rambus Cryptography Research division. “The CryptoFirewall IP core solution helps connected TVs achieve a similar level of content protection as set-top boxes, while limiting the service providers’ internal engineering and integration costs. These advancements in connected TV security are critical to realizing the full potential of OTT content; securely and seamlessly enabling consumers to receive content from a wide range of sources directly on their TVs.”

The CryptoFirewall core is a self-contained ASIC security core that provides a secure hardware foundation for signal security applications. The CryptoFirewall cores enable a uniformly high level of security across set-top-boxes and connected TVs, enabling the next wave of secure digital distribution. The core is designed to protect cryptographic keys and computations within a chip, even if surrounding components are compromised. The CryptoFirewall core is easily integrated directly into video decoding SoCs from the leading manufacturers supplying the set-top box chip market and now, with MStar, the leading TV silicon provider. The CryptoFirewall core provides a robust and cost-effective solution that is complementary with hardware and software-based conditional access solutions, protecting against piracy of content and services.

For additional information on CryptoFirewall technology or on Cryptography Research visit cryptography.com.

About MStar Semiconductor, Inc.

MStar Semiconductor, Inc. (“MStar”) is a world-class leader in Application Specific ICs (“ASIC”) with a focus on consumer electronic products and communication applications. Since the inception in 2002, MStar has established a strong brand and leadership position in LCD controller, analog and digital TV and set-top box by fully leveraging its core expertise of cutting-edge design capabilities, continuous innovation and premier customer-focused services. Headquartered in Taiwan, MStar has a comprehensive global footprint of international R&D and customer support centers to provide a full range of total solutions for various consumer electronic applications. For more information, please visit www.mstarsemi.com.

About Cryptography Research, Inc.

Cryptography Research, Inc. (CRI), a division of Rambus Inc., is a leader in semiconductor security research and development. Established by internationally renowned cryptographer Paul Kocher, CRI develops and licenses innovative technologies in areas including tamper resistance, content protection, anti-counterfeiting, network security, and financial services. Over seven billion security products are made each year under license from CRI. Security systems designed by CRI scientists and engineers protect hundreds of billions of dollars in commerce annually. Additional information is available at: cryptography.com.

Entropic Completes Integration of Cryptography Research CryptoFirewall Security Cores

CryptoFirewall™ cores now available in Entropic set-top box system-on-chips to help secure digital content

SAN DIEGO and SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 8, 2013 — Entropic (NASDAQ: ENTR), a world leader in semiconductor solutions for the connected home and Cryptography Research, Inc. (CRI), a division of Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS), today announced Entropic has completed the integration of the Cryptography Research CryptoFirewall security core technology into its advanced line of multimedia set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) products. By incorporating CRI’s technology into its SoCs, Entropic can help ensure its products protect against signal theft and content piracy.

Entropic’s ARM®-based advanced STB SoC solutions are designed for hybrid broadcast/IP pay TV networks to provide security, best-in-class integration, features, and ecosystem support required by leading global pay TV operators. By natively embedding the CryptoFirewall core into its silicon hardware, Entropic adds a hardened security implementation with silicon-based key management, a private bus for key delivery, and extra logic for specific conditional access and digital rights management (DRM) systems.

“Entropic is committed to enabling the secure distribution of premium programming via cable, satellite, broadband, IPTV, and OTT platforms,” said Roger Gregory, vice president, Marketing at Entropic. “By working with the engineering team at Cryptography Research, we were able to design and integrate the CryptoFirewall security cores into our advanced security architecture for a higher level of content protection.”

The CryptoFirewall core is a self-contained ASIC security core which provides a secure hardware foundation for signal security applications. The core is designed to protect cryptographic keys and computations within a chip even if surrounding components are compromised. The CryptoFirewall core is integrated directly into video decoding SoCs. It provides a robust and cost-effective solution that is complementary with hardware and software-based conditional access solutions, protecting against piracy of content and services.

“Entropic has taken an important step in integrating our CryptoFirewall core into its multimedia STB chipsets,” said Benjamin Jun, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Cryptography Research. “Through the implementation of a secure hardware core, Entropic has illustrated its responsiveness to the evolving security requirements of the pay TV industry.”

Availability

Entropic SoC products embedded with the CRI CryptoFirewall technology include the advanced single-core STB SoC family, EN753x/EN754x/EN755x, and the powerful dual-core STB SoC line, EN757x/EN758x.

For additional information on CryptoFirewall technology or on Cryptography Research visit cryptography.com.

About Cryptography Research, Inc.

Cryptography Research, Inc. (CRI), a division of Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS), is a leader in semiconductor security research and development. Established by internationally renowned cryptographer Paul Kocher, CRI develops and licenses innovative technologies in areas including tamper resistance, content protection, anti-counterfeiting, network security, and financial services. Over seven billion security products are made each year under license from CRI. Security systems designed by CRI scientists and engineers protect hundreds of billions of dollars in commerce annually. Additional information is available at cryptography.com.

About Entropic

Entropic™ (Nasdaq: ENTR) is a world leader in semiconductor solutions for the connected home. The Company transforms how traditional HDTV broadcast and IP-based streaming video content is seamlessly, reliably, and securely delivered, processed, and distributed into and throughout the home. Entropic’s next-generation Set-top Box (STB) System-on-a-Chip (SoC) and Connectivity solutions enable Pay-TV operators to offer consumers more captivating whole-home entertainment experiences by transforming the way digital entertainment is delivered, connected and consumed – in the home and on the go. For more information, visit Entropic at: www.entropic.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Entropic’s SoC technologies, its related prospects and its role in the future of connected home entertainment. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause Entropic’s actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, competition, risks associated with Entropic dependence on a limited number of customers and suppliers, technology risks, the risk that the market for HD video and multimedia content delivery solutions may not develop as Entropic anticipates and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of Entropic’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended August 8, 2013. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Entropic is providing this information as of the date of this release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Copyright© 2013 Entropic. All rights reserved. All other product or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Cryptography Research Signs License Agreement with EchoStar for CryptoFirewall Security Technology to Combat Piracy

Leading TV Technology Provider to Deploy Tamper-Resistant Security Core

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES – 02/26/2013 – Cryptography Research (CRI), a division of Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS), today announced a license agreement with EchoStar Technologies L.L.C., a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (Nasdaq: SATS), to adopt the Cryptography Research CryptoFirewall™ security core for use with EchoStar set-top box technologies to protect against TV signal theft.

“We are committed to the strongest and most advanced security solutions, and pleased to be integrating the CryptoFirewall core into our future set-top box platforms,” said Dave Kummer, Chief Technology Officer at EchoStar. “Cryptography Research’s technologies have an excellent reputation for securing content, and the CryptoFirewall core complements and reinforces the technologies utilized by our conditional access partners.”

The CryptoFirewall core is a self-contained ASIC security core that provides a secure hardware foundation for signal security applications. The core is designed to protect cryptographic keys and computations within a chip even if surrounding components are compromised. The CryptoFirewall core is integrated directly into leading video decoding systems-on-a-chip, providing a robust and cost-effective solution that is complementary with hardware and software-based conditional access solutions.

“We are honored that EchoStar has selected the CryptoFirewall core as part of its comprehensive and robust portfolio of security tools to prevent piracy and signal theft,” said Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist at Cryptography Research. “EchoStar continues to deploy strong, proven security technology across the hardware and software level, and this announcement demonstrates their continued commitment to providing a secure distribution channel for high value content.”

For additional information on Cryptography Research or on the CryptoFirewall product, visit www.cryptography.com.

About EchoStar
EchoStar Technologies L.L.C. is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), a premier global provider of satellite operations and video delivery solutions. EchoStar’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Hughes, is the world’s leading provider of satellite broadband services, delivering network technologies and managed services for enterprise and government customers in more than 100 countries. Headquartered in Englewood, CO, with additional business units world-wide, EchoStar is a multiple Emmy award-winning company that has pioneered advancements in the set-top box and satellite industries for over 30 years, consistently delivering value for customers, partners and investors through innovation and outstanding quality. Over the last three decades EchoStar’s contribution to video technology has had a major influence on the way consumers view, receive and manage TV programming. EchoStar’s consumer solutions include HughesNet®, North America’s #1 high-speed satellite Internet service, Sling Media’s Slingbox products, and EchoStar’s line of advanced digital video set-top box products for the European free satellite and terrestrial viewer markets.

About Cryptography Research, Inc.
Cryptography Research, Inc. (CRI), a division of Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS), is a leader in semiconductor security research and development. Established by internationally renowned cryptographer Paul Kocher, CRI develops and licenses innovative technologies in areas including tamper resistance, content protection, anti-counterfeiting, network security, and financial services. Over seven billion security products are made each year under license from CRI. Security systems designed by CRI scientists and engineers protect hundreds of billions of dollars in commerce annually. Additional information is available at www.cryptography.com.

Sigma Designs to Select the Cryptography Research CryptoFirewall Security Core for Next Generation System-on-Chip Solutions

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES – 09/06/2012 – Cryptography Research, Inc. (CRI), a division of Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) and Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leading provider of System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions for home entertainment connectivity and control, today announced that Sigma Designs will collaborate with CRI to integrate the CRI CryptoFirewall™ security technology into its multimedia set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions. The advanced CryptoFirewall security core will help Sigma Design provide its customers with the ability to provide robust hardware security in their digital entertainment solutions.

“Sigma Designs is committed to secure delivery of high value content on broadcast, IPTV and OTT platforms. Operators and STB OEMs benefit from Sigma’s Secure Media Processor (SMP) architecture that includes secure hardware accelerated implementations of CAS and DRM systems.” said Waheed Rasheed vice president of product marketing at Sigma Designs. “Cryptography Research’s CryptoFirewall technology is an important addition to our advanced hardware security architecture.”

“Sigma Designs is a leader in developing SoCs for digital entertainment and home control, which are industries that place a very high value on security,” said Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist at Cryptography Research. “We are delighted to be working with Sigma Designs to provide customers with effective solutions for protecting digital content against piracy.”

The CryptoFirewall core is a self-contained ASIC security core which provides a secure hardware foundation for signal security applications. The core is designed to protect cryptographic keys and computations within a chip even if surrounding components are compromised. The CryptoFirewall core is integrated directly into video decoding systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) from the leading manufacturers supplying the set-top box chip market. It provides a robust and cost-effective solution that is complementary with hardware and software-based conditional access solutions, protecting against piracy of content and services.

For additional information on CryptoFirewall technology or on Cryptography Research visit www.cryptography.com.

About Sigma Designs, Inc.

Sigma Designs, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGM) is a world leader in connected media platforms. The company designs and builds the essential semiconductor technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s leading IPTV set-top boxes, DTV, connected media players, residential gateways, home control systems and more. For more information about Sigma Designs, please visit www.sigmadesigns.com.

About Cryptography Research, Inc.

Cryptography Research, Inc. (CRI), a division of Rambus Inc., is a leader in semiconductor security research and development. Established by internationally renowned cryptographer Paul Kocher, CRI develops and licenses innovative technologies in areas including tamper resistance, content protection, anti-counterfeiting, network security, and financial services. Over six billion security products are made each year under license from CRI. Security systems designed by CRI scientists and engineers protect hundreds of billions of dollars in commerce annually. Additional information is available at www.cryptography.com.

About Rambus Inc.

Rambus is one of the world’s premier technology licensing companies. Founded in 1990, the Company specializes in the invention and design of architectures focused on enriching the end-user experience of electronic systems. Rambus’ patented innovations and breakthrough technologies help industry-leading companies bring superior products to market. Rambus licenses both its world-class patent portfolio, as well as its family of leadership and industry-standard solutions. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Rambus has regional offices in North Carolina, Ohio, India, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Additional information is available at www.rambus.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements related to Rambus and CRI, including any future relationship with Sigma Designs, the terms of any future license agreement and the benefits of CRI’s CryptoFirewall solutions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including the possibility of a delay, postponement or inability to execute a license agreement with Sigma Designs. Please refer to the documents Rambus files from time to time with the SEC, including Rambus’ most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, as well as Rambus’ future filings. Although Rambus believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, Rambus cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Rambus is under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results.

Rambus Announces IBM to License Multi-protocol Serdes

Single Low-Power SerDes IP Cell Supports Wide Range of Protocols Spanning 1.25-6.4Gbps

LOS ALTOS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES – 04/22/2008 – Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS), one of the world’s premier technology licensing companies specializing in high-speed memory architectures, today announced that IBM has licensed Rambus’ multi-protocol SerDes (Serial/Deserializer) cell designed for advanced networking, server and general ASIC applications. This sophisticated multi-protocol SerDes cell provides IBM with a high-performance and low-power solution for implementation on its 45nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology.

“The SerDes requirements for ASICs and servers are increasingly demanding and cover many protocols,” said Steve Longoria, vice president for Semiconductor Solutions, IBM. “Rambus’ multi-protocol SerDes solution gives us a flexible, single IP solution that simplifies the design process without compromising performance, power or silicon die area.”

The Rambus multi-protocol SerDes is a single IP cell leveraging a scalable architecture that offers data rates of 1.25 Gbps to 6.4 Gbps. It features an advanced Rambus phase-locked loop (PLL) architecture, which achieves low jitter over a wide variety of operating data rates and enables best-in-class performance in a small silicon die area.

“Our customers are faced with design challenges that call for both high performance and low power in order to meet their application requirements,” said Sharon Holt, senior vice president of Worldwide Sales, Licensing and Marketing at Rambus. “IBM is renowned for its advanced technology, and we are pleased to provide our innovative multi-protocol SerDes for its ASIC library and product offerings.”

The Rambus SerDes solution also incorporates the Rambus LabStation™ characterization environment, enabling thorough qualification, advanced testability features, and improved time-to-market.

For more information on Rambus’ multi-protocol SerDes solution please visit www.rambus.com.

About Rambus Inc.

Rambus is one of the world’s premier technology licensing companies specializing in the invention and design of high-speed memory architectures. Since its founding in 1990, the Company’s patented innovations, breakthrough technologies and renowned integration expertise have helped industry-leading chip and system companies bring superior products to market. Rambus’ technology and products solve customers’ most complex chip and system-level interface challenges enabling unprecedented performance in computing, communications and consumer electronics applications. Rambus licenses both its world-class patent portfolio as well as its family of leadership and industry-standard interface products. Headquartered in Los Altos, California, Rambus has regional offices in North Carolina, India, Germany, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Additional information is available at www.rambus.com.

Rambus and the Rambus logo are registered trademarks of Rambus Inc. XDR, XIO, and LabStation are trademarks of Rambus Inc. All other trade names are the service marks, trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Rambus Introduces Memory Controller Interface Solution for Industry-standard DDR3 DRAM

RAMBUS DEVELOPER FORUM, HSINCHU, TAIWAN – 10/17/2007 – Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS), one of the world’s premier technology licensing companies specializing in high-speed memory architectures, today announced the introduction of its memory controller interface solution for industry-standard DDR3 DRAM. The fully integrated hard macro cell provides the physical layer (PHY) interface between the controller logic and DDR3 or DDR2 DRAM devices for data rates of up to 1600 MHz.

Optimized for low power and reduced silicon area, the Rambus DDR3 memory controller interface cell is designed to accommodate a broad range of applications including PC main memory, consumer electronics, servers, workstations, and network communications. To serve these applications, Rambus has architected and developed a DDR3 memory controller interface macro-cell that engineers can seamlessly integrate into their customer owned tooling (COT) or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip.

“As signaling frequencies of mainstream DDR DRAMs continue to increase, the memory interfaces critical to system performance have become very challenging to design,” said Martin Scott, senior vice president of engineering at Rambus Inc. “Using our extensive signal integrity experience, we have architected a low-risk, highly optimized DDR3 memory controller interface that meets the performance requirements of both main memory and consumer applications.”

To ensure first-silicon success, a reliable system environment for high-volume production, and rapid in-system qualification, the Rambus DDR3 interface solution incorporates Rambus innovations such as:

  • FlexPhase™ timing adjustment circuits for precise on-chip data alignment with the clock
  • Calibrated output drivers
  • On-die termination
  • LabStation™ software environment for bring-up, characterization and validation of the DDR3 interface in the end-user application

Other key interface features include:

  • 800 to 1600 MHz data rates
  • Support for DDR3 and DDR2 signaling modes
  • On-chip phase-locked loop (PLL)
  • On-chip delay-locked loop (DLL)
  • Levelization support for fly-by command and address architecture
  • Rambus FlexPhase™ based in-PHY module that provides characterization and testing capability in the production system
  • Multi-drop bus and multi-rank module support for large capacity systems
  • Variable data bit-widths (8-, 16-, 32-, and 64-bit) with optional ECC support

Rambus DDR cells are supported by comprehensive system design and integration services that include a complete set of design models and integration tools, including GDSII database, timing models, layout verification netlists, gate-level models, place-and-route outline, and placement guidelines. Package design and system board layout services are also available. For more information about the Rambus DDR3 memory controller interface please visit www.rambus.com/ddr.