VLSI implementation of password (PIN) authentication unit

Multi-user communication systems need secure authorization mechanisms in order to protect the system information resources. It is necessary in these systems for the offered services to be protected from unauthorized users, or from possible undesirable external attackers of the system such as hackers. The most widely used protocols and methods for user authorization are based on the use of passwords and in some cases on PIN numbers. In this paper, a hardware implementation of a password (PIN) authentication unit is proposed. By using a few hardware resources, the introduced unit guarantees a high level of security. Due to the special design, the introduced implementation provides very high throughput. It can be used in systems which are connected to communication links up to 340 Mbps.