SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 26 -- AMD will share its expertise in developing manufacturing systems software in a joint effort of semiconductor industry leaders to develop, prototype and validate an Internet-based security framework. AMD will work with domainLogix, ILS Technology and Oceana Sensor Technologies in a project managed by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International and partially funded by a $5 million grant from the National Institute of Standards in Technology. Participating companies willl share costs of the project, which has a budget of approximately $10.1 million. The venture is expected to reach its goals within three years. Its approach will be validated by building eDiagnostics and eManufacturing applications, demonstrating how security problems are resolved by these applications and by offering compelling improvements in factory effectiveness. The vendor and party-neutral framework will be developed as an open standard. The project aims to create a flexible firewall -- a distributed architecture that can protect any accessible device, from a factory server to an embedded sensor -- and that enforces the security policies of the factories and the equipment suppliers.