[Blog] Future-Proofing Server Security with Lattice FPGAs

Servers are the backbone of modern computing infrastructure. They host sensitive data, AI models, and core workloads – making them prime targets for increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. As server architectures become more modular and disaggregated, integrating various CPUs, NICs, accelerators, SCM modules, and more, and as organizations rely more heavily on these distributed systems, the complexity of securing these systems grows exponentially.

Recent attacks – such as those exploiting Secure Boot gaps or leveraging zero-day vulnerabilities in on-premises deployments – demonstrate how platform-level exploits can bypass traditional software defenses. These threats often bypass traditional software defenses through firmware implants and persistent attack vectors. In response, regulatory frameworks and industry standards – including CNSA 2.0, NIST 800-193, and the EU Cyber Resilience Act – are increasingly mandating hardware-enforced security measures. These include platform resiliency, cryptographic assurance, and secure lifecycle management.

Meeting these requirements and defending against sophisticated threats is no small feat. By equipping system developers with robust hardware solutions and best practices for foundational security, organizations can build resilient server architectures that support secure and scalable computing environments.

What’s Challenging Server-Level Security?
To build resilient platform infrastructure, developers must address key inhibitors to server-level security.

While these threats continue to evolve alongside technological solutions, they currently include:

• Expanding firmware attack surface. Firmware – software that drives the server hardware – is proving to be increasingly vulnerable to malware and other cyberattacks. These attacks take advantage of system vulnerabilities to gain access to sensitive ecosystems, continuously rising with increased use of IoT devices.
• System on Chip (SoC) consolidation risks. Single-chip Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) and Root of Trust (RoT) solutions lack flexibility and redundancy, making them vulnerable to direct attacks and exploitation.
• Insecure update and provisioning flows. In large, interconnected computing infrastructure networks, connections between disparate solutions create new avenues for outside attacks. Protecting these networks and ensuring consistent system updates and data provisioning requires protocols like secure key injection, rollback protection, and attestation.
• Present-day quantum risk. The risks of quantum computing are no longer a future issue, they’re a present concern. Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) measures must be built into infrastructure now to deter impending threats, including “harvest now, decrypt later” style attacks that pilfer data today to expose and exploit it in the future when quantum computing capabilities are more broadly available.
• SKU variability. In a world where storage, AI, compute, and networking SKUs each carry their own control, security, and interface nuances, the key is to have resilient secure-control and scalable I/O – a foundation that adapts seamlessly to every workload profile.

As threats to servers continue to change and multiply, one constant remains: security capabilities must be built into server infrastructure from the start.

How Lattice FPGA Solutions Enable Server Security
This is where Lattice Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) come into play.

• Lattice MachXO5™-NX.These FPGAs build upon previous generations of leadership secure control FPGAs with higher logic density, faster interfaces, a larger internal memory, and enhanced security features that enable more complex board management designs.
• Lattice Mach-NX™. Secure system control FPGA Mach-NX delivers heightened security features and fast, power-efficient processing capabilities that enable the implementation of real-time HRoT on server platforms.
• Lattice MachXO3D™.With an immutable internal security block, the MachXO3D enables HRoT capabilities, pre-verified cryptographic functions, and on-device secure dual boot capabilities.

Each of these FPGAs brings enhanced hardware security features to server builds, including secure programming and provisioning capabilities; HRoT and secure control plane (SCP) enablement; standards-based attestation; Platform Firmware Resilience (PFR), security protocol and data model (SPDM) enforcement; and support for PQC algorithms.

At the same time, they maintain critical high-performance capabilities such as:

• Instant-on deterministic logic
• Parallel processing
• Post-deployment re-programmability
• Protocol bridging
• I/O scalability
• Multi-socket flexibility

This balance of security and performance allows developers to design-in protective capabilities at the chip level while supporting the high-volume needs of their server infrastructure.

Real-world Applications of Lattice FPGAs in Server Security
FPGAs support secure server operations across a range of industries, including the rapidly scaling AI hyperscaler datacenter market. In these environments, FPGAs are integrated into AI server motherboards both in control and host processor modules (SCM & HPM) and networking cards to support high-volume processing without sacrificing security.

FPGAs are also deployed in cloud computing and storage server architectures to support secure platform management for enterprise datacenter operations. These chips are powering control functions, acting as foundational HRoTs and platform roots of trust (PRoT), and supporting secure updates, boots, attestation, and self-recovery.

These functions ultimately enable growing datacenters to comply with evolving regulations and industry standards, including the Open Compute Project’s foundational Datacenter Secure Control Module (DC-SCM) and Datacenter Modular Hardware System (DC-MHS) standards. As these standards develop, FPGAs help developers meet security requirements and build consistent, secure datacenter architectures.

Lattice FPGAs also provide key security protections with the NIST 800-193 compliant PFR solution and SPDM and DICE attestation, ensuring platform integrity and secure communication.

Building the Future of Secure Server Operations
As computing capabilities expand and threats evolve, server security must be resilient, scalable, and proactive. Hardware-level protections are essential to defend against emerging risks and ensure compliance with evolving standards.

Lattice FPGAs offer developers a flexible, standards-aligned foundation for hardware-level security across server generations, use cases, and industries. Whether you're building next-gen datacenter platforms or modernizing legacy infrastructure, Lattice can help you embed security at the silicon level – enabling secure boot, attestation, post-quantum cryptography, and platform resiliency.

Explore how Lattice FPGA security solutions can strengthen your server architecture and accelerate compliance with emerging standards, and contact us today to start building a more secure future.