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RedFox
High-end embeddable encryption module - this page is a stub

RedFox is a universal high-end proprietary encryption/decryption module, developed around 2005 by Fox-IT in Delft (Netherlands) on behalf of the Dutch Government. It has full red-black separation and can be embedded in existing products. RedFox is the successor to the Fort Fox File Encryptor (FFFE) PCMCIA card and is suitable for securing data (storage) as well as IP links.

RedFox was developed in close cooperation with the NBV — the NLNCSA of the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service AIVD. It is used in a special version of the well-known SINA Box network encryptor, known as SINA RedFox [3].

In 2014 it was announced that Fox-IT was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Defense (MoD) for the development of a new Electronic Key Management System (EKMS), at the heart of which the RedFox Crypto Module would be used [5][6]. As part of the EKMS, 400 Electronic Fill Devices (EFD) would be provided by Fox-IT [6].
  

Due to the classified nature of the RedFox Crypto Module, we are currently unable to show a picture of the module or its crypto chip. As far as we know, there are no images of this module in the public domain.

Examples of RedFox-based products
SINA bulk encryptor for IP-based networks
History
Between 1997 and 2001, the Dutch manufacturer Philips Usfa (later: Philips Crypto) developed a hardware-based encryption module for the Dutch Government. The module was based on a PCMCIA card that could be plugged into the laptop computers of the era and, with an adapter, in regular personal computers (PCs). Inside the PCMCIA card was a Philips-developed crypto chip known as the General Crypto Device Philips (GCD-PHI), generally known as the GCD-Φ chip.

The product met with several setbacks, delays and specification changes by the customer, and was finally cancelled by the Dutch Government in 2001, although Philips Crypto had meanwhile developed several successful products based on the GCD-Φ chip and the later GCD-Φ 2000.

After Philips Crypto closed down in 2003, its assets and product portfolio were taken over by two other Dutch companies: Compumatica in Uden (Netherlands) and Fox-IT in Delft (Netherlands). Compumatica took over the LAN Guard network encryptor. The remains of the ill-fated V-Kaart project went to Fox-IT, where the software was completely rewritten. The product was renamed Fort Fox File Encryptor (FFFE) and was successfully sold to the Dutch Government for many years.

Immediately after the introduction of the FFFE card, Fox-IT started the development of the next generation of crypto chips and crypto modules. After a successful evaluation by the AIVD/NBV – the Dutch Security Agency – the new RedFox chip was announced in 2005 [5]. Products based on RedFox were expected during the 2nd half of 2012, subject to approval by the NLNCSA (NBV) [2].


RedFox is available for (civil) third parties and contains a number of standard algorithms for Public Key Encryption (PKE), such as AES, SHA-256 and SHA-512. A special version of the chip, called RedFox GT, contains classified algorithms and is available for the Dutch Government only.


Specifications
  • Device
    Embeddable crypto module
  • Manufacturer
    Fox-IT
  • Dimensions
    144.5 x 109 x 22.5 mm
  • Weight
    400 grams
  • Voltage
    5V DC
  • Power
    3W typical, 7.5W max.
  • Red interfaces
    Gigabit Ethernet, GMII/MII, UART, GPIO
  • Black interface
    Gigabit Ethernet, GMII/MII, UART, GPIO, USB, I2C, SPI
  • Performance
    800 Mbps (AES + SHA, all key sizes)
Algorithms
  • AES 128, 192, 256-bit
  • SHA 224, 256, 384, 512-bit
  • Public Key operations, including RSA and ECC
  • Camellia 128, 192, 256-bit 1
  • Classified algorithms 2
  1. Commercial version only.
  2. Government version only (RedFox GT).



Documentation
  1. RedFox Cryptographic Platform, productsheet
    Fox-IT, July 2012.
References
  1. Fox-IT, RedFox Crypto chip 1
    Fox-IT website. Retrieved July 2012.

  2. AIVD, NBV Nieuwsbrief, Vervanging van de FFFE
    NBV Nieuwsbrief, 2011 nr. 3. p. 6.

  3. Topsecret, Staatsgeheimen veilig met SINA RedFox
    Foxfiles (Fox-IT customer magazine), Nr. 3, November 2012. Page 12.

  4. NRC Handelsblad, Crypto-chip Red Fox... (Dutch) 1
    Crypto-chip RedFox gebruikt algoritmes om data te versleutelen en veilig te verzenden.
    1 December 2005. Retrieved July 2012.

  5. Pim van der Beek, Defensie kies Fox-IT voor encryptiebeheer
    Computable, 4 march 2014 (in Dutch).

  6. Witold Kepinski, Ministerie van Defensie kiest Fox-IT voor realisatie EKMS
    Dutch IT-channel, 5 March 2014.
  1. Page from cache via WayBack machine, as the original page was no longer available in 2017.

Further information
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Friday 30 March 2018. Last changed: Tuesday, 06 June 2023 - 18:37 CET.
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