Providing secure trace message communications using symmetric encryption and authentication

A microcontroller, comprising:

• debug circuitry configured to receive trace data instances associated with respective functions executed by the microcontroller and to generate trace messages, each one of the trace messages comprising a trace data instance and being identified with a respective time stamp value;
• cryptographic circuitry configured to perform authenticated encryption of the trace data instances in accordance with a symmetric encryption and authentication function that utilizes a secret key and a number used only once (nonce) value to generate encrypted trace data and additional authentication data (AAD) that comprises a time stamp value,
• wherein the cryptographic circuitry performs the symmetric encryption and authentication function by generating, for one or more of the trace messages containing one or more trace data instances to be encrypted, a respective nonce value based on the time stamp value;
• and
• a data interface configured to provide the encrypted trace data to an external device,
• wherein the AAD facilitates the external device to reconstruct the respective nonce value from the time stamp value included in the AAD to decrypt the encrypted trace data.