DICE (Device Identifier Composition Engine) is a compact hardware-and-software approach to giving an embedded device a cryptographic identity tied to the code it boots. It combines a per-device secret with measurements of boot code and, depending on the profile, security-relevant configuration to derive a secret Compound Device Identifier (CDI). A key design goal is to protect the underlying secret from later, mutable software.
In this roundtable, a device architect, an embedded-security engineer, and a relying-party designer unpack what DICE does, what it does not promise, and how it relates to a TPM.
What problem is DICE meant to solve?
Device architect: A relying party needs more than a device serial number. It needs a way to establish a cryptographic identity and evaluate which software state is behind that identity. That is especially challenging in small embedded systems, where a conventional, separate security component may not fit the design’s cost, power, or resource constraints.
Embedded-security engineer: DICE is a family of hardware-and-software techniques for device identity, attestation, and data encryption. It uses a protected per-device secret and measured software to derive identities associated with boot states. The architecture can provide a foundation for security services; it does not, by itself, secure every component or guarantee that firmware is safe.
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Relying-party designer: The distinction matters: DICE can help a verifier assess evidence about a device’s measured state, but trust still depends on the implementation, the evidence format and certificates it provides, and the verifier’s policy.
How does DICE work?
Embedded-security engineer: The basic flow is a protected Unique Device Secret (UDS), a measurement of the code being started, and a derivation step that produces a Compound Device Identifier (CDI). Microsoft Research gives the illustrative form CDI = HMAC(UDS, Hash(program)). That is an explanatory pattern, not a universal formula: profiles and implementations can specify additional inputs and derivation details.
- Provision a device-specific secret. The UDS is unique to the device and typically kept in fuses or other protected storage.
- Measure the next software. Early boot code or hardware obtains a measurement of the program being launched. A profile may also include configuration data that captures security-relevant properties of the environment.
- Derive a CDI. The UDS and measurement are combined cryptographically. The resulting CDI is secret and depends on the device and the measured state.
- Restrict access to the UDS. Before control reaches more complex firmware, early boot code or internal SoC mechanisms must prevent that software from reading the hardware UDS. Google’s Open Profile states that mutable software must never have access to it.
Device architect: The sequence is only as strong as its boundaries. The boot measurement has to cover the code and configuration relevant to the security claim, and the handoff has to preserve the secret’s protection. A measurement that omits a security-critical setting cannot attest to that setting.
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What is a Compound Device Identifier?
Embedded-security engineer: A CDI is a secret derived from the device’s UDS and a measured software state. “Compound” captures that dependence: the identifier reflects both a hardware-rooted secret and the software state included in the derivation. If the measured program changes, the derived value can change as well.
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How does DICE layering extend identity across boot?
Embedded-security engineer: DICE applies a measured transition as control passes from one program to another. The initial layer is kept small enough to establish the secret-handling and measurement boundary. A later layer can then derive an identity tied to the next program, and the same pattern can continue through further transitions.
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Device architect: Layering lets a system associate identities with successive software states rather than treating the device as having only one undifferentiated identity. It can support attestation and key derivation for later components, but the precise layers, inputs, outputs, and rules depend on the chosen profile and implementation.
Relying-party designer: An attestation consumer still needs to know what was measured, how the claim is represented, which keys and certificates anchor it, and what state it considers acceptable. DICE supplies architectural building blocks, not a universal acceptance policy.
How is DICE different from a TPM?
Device architect: They address overlapping security needs but are not interchangeable. TCG positions DICE for IoT and embedded devices where a traditional TPM may be impractical, and also describes DICE as something that can support a device that has a TPM. That is a design-context distinction, not a claim that every DICE implementation replaces every TPM service.
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| Comparison point | DICE | TPM-based approach |
|---|---|---|
| Typical design context | TCG frames it as useful for resource-constrained embedded devices; specific hardware requirements depend on the implementation. | A traditional TPM may be impractical for some constrained devices, according to TCG; the sources here do not specify a universal device profile. |
| Identity mechanism | Derives a secret CDI from a device-specific UDS and measured software; details depend on profile and implementation. | Not stated in the cited DICE materials as a universal comparison; TPM designs and services vary. |
| Measured software layers | Layered measured transitions are a central DICE pattern. | No universal comparison is established by the cited DICE materials. |
| Attestation and key services | Can support attestation and key derivation; exact services and formats are implementation-specific. | No complete feature-by-feature comparison is established by the cited DICE materials. |
| Can they coexist? | TCG says DICE can also support devices that have a TPM. | A TPM may be present alongside DICE, depending on the device architecture. |
Relying-party designer: Choose based on the actual services, assurance requirements, provisioning model, and available hardware. The available sources do not provide a universal performance benchmark or feature matrix that would make one architecture categorically superior.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does a real DICE implementation need to get right?
Device architect: A standards profile is not a substitute for checking the SoC’s boot path and memory protections. Before choosing an implementation, establish how the hardware and firmware handle each of these points:
- Secret protection: Identify where the UDS resides and which hardware or early-boot mechanisms prevent later mutable software from reading it.
- Measurement coverage: Confirm exactly which executable code and configuration are measured at each transition, and whether those inputs match the state a verifier needs to assess.
- Handoff and storage: Determine where the CDI and any derived keys are placed, which execution stages can access them, and how they are protected.
- Profile and certificate compatibility: Check which DICE profile, derivation rules, evidence format, and certificate chain the producer and verifier both support.
- Provisioning and verification: Document how device secrets and identity credentials are provisioned, and how a relying party validates evidence and applies its policy.
Embedded-security engineer: Microchip’s documentation illustrates why memory placement is an implementation responsibility. In that vendor’s documented implementation, the engine can derive a CDI at boot from a stored UDS and a boot-flash image digest/MAC, then write the CDI to an SRAM location selected by configuration. Microchip warns that the user must ensure the destination is Secure SRAM. Those details describe that implementation, not a requirement for every DICE system.
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What can DICE enable—and what does it not guarantee?
Relying-party designer: DICE can enable device-specific cryptographic identity, layered identities associated with measured software transitions, and evidence that helps a relying party evaluate a device’s state. Depending on the design, those capabilities can support attestation, key derivation, and data protection.
Embedded-security engineer: DICE does not automatically make a device secure, ensure a safe update, or prove that measured code is free of vulnerabilities. A measurement identifies what was measured; a relying party must still decide whether that state is trustworthy. Secret protection, measurement scope, configuration inputs, memory placement, and the verification policy all matter.
Microsoft’s 2017 technical report discusses a TLS/X.509 certificate approach and cautions that a software-only implementation does not provide the same assurance as a hardware-rooted design. Treat certificate structure and assurance as properties of the particular implementation, not universal guarantees of the DICE label.
Which DICE documents and implementations should practitioners check?
Embedded-security engineer: Google’s Open Profile for DICE v2.6 describes UDS, CDI, measured transitions, and configuration inputs in an implementation-oriented profile based on TCG concepts. TCG’s DICE work-group materials describe the architecture and its device-identity and attestation purpose. For a specific chip, use the vendor’s documentation to confirm the actual derivation, memory, and boot behavior.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteTCG’s public-review listing included Hardware Requirements for a Device Identifier Composition Engine v1.0 revision 0.91 and DICE Protection Environment v1.0 revision 0.13 with 2024 review windows. That historical listing does not establish which revisions are the latest final publications as of October 4, 2026; consult TCG’s current publication pages for publication status. Microsoft’s RIoT reference repository is archived as of June 11, 2026, so it is historical implementation material rather than an actively maintained project.
Quick Recap
- Microsoft Research: DICE overview
- Trusted Computing Group: DICE Architectures Work Group
- Trusted Computing Group: Public Review Specifications
- Google: Open Profile for DICE
- Microsoft: archived RIoT Reference Architecture repository
- Microchip: DICE functional description
- Trusted Computing Group: 2017 DICE announcement
- Microsoft Research: Device Identity with DICE and RIoT: Keys and Certificates
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