Managing use of a field programmable gate array with reprogammable cryptographic operations

A field programmable gate array (FPGA) comprising:

• a plurality of programmable processing elements, including elements programmed to perform cryptographic operations, the programmable processing elements being isolated within the FPGA such that the programmable processing elements are isolated from components outside the FPGA;
• a plurality of isolated registers for storing cryptographic secrets, the isolated registers being isolated within the FPGA such that the isolated registers are isolated from components outside the FPGA, the cryptographic secrets being used in the cryptographic operations performed by the processing elements such that encrypted data received by the FPGA can be decrypted solely within the FPGA and by the FPGA using the cryptographic secrets;
• and
• a loading mechanism for securely updating the cryptographic operations performed by the programmed processing elements.

A method for programming a field programmable gate array (FPGA), comprising:

• receiving encrypted program logic for a cryptographic operation into memory;
• decrypting the encrypted program logic into isolated memory within the FPGA;
• and
• programming the FPGA using the decrypted program logic to implement the cryptographic operation in the FPGA;
• wherein decrypting the encrypted program logic and programming the FPGA is performed by FPGA elements isolated within the FPGA.