Verify PAC/BTI support in an AWS IoT Greengrass component on Arm
Introduction
Understand AWS IoT Greengrass and Armv9 PAC/BTI security features
Set up a Raspberry Pi 5 as an AWS IoT Greengrass core device
Set up a Jetson Thor as an AWS IoT Greengrass core device
Create an AWS IoT Greengrass custom component
Deploy the AWS IoT Greengrass custom component
Verify PAC/BTI support on your devices using MQTT
Next Steps

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About this Learning Path

Skill level:  Introductory
Reading time:  30 min
Last updated:  03 Nov 2026
Skill level:
  Introductory
Reading time:
  30 min
Last updated:
  03 Nov 2026
Authors:Varun Chari, Arm
Doug Anson, Arm
Arm IP:Cortex-A
Tags: Performance and Architecture AWS Graviton Linux AWS IoT Greengrass Python Java MQTT YAML
Authors:
  • Varun Chari, Arm
  • Doug Anson, Arm
Arm IP:
Cortex-A
Tags:
Performance and Architecture AWS Graviton Linux AWS IoT Greengrass Python Java MQTT YAML

Who is this for?

This Learning Path is for IoT and embedded developers who want to deploy and manage components on Arm devices using AWS IoT Greengrass, and verify PAC/BTI security feature support across different Arm platforms.

What will you learn?

After completing this Learning Path, you'll be able to perform the following tasks:

  • Register Armv8 and Armv9 devices as AWS IoT Greengrass core devices
  • Build an AWS IoT Greengrass custom component that tests PAC/BTI support
  • Deploy the component to multiple Arm devices using a Greengrass Thing Group
  • Use MQTT to trigger PAC/BTI checks and interpret the results for each platform

Prerequisites

Before starting, you'll need the following prerequisites:

  • An Amazon Web Services (AWS) account with access to AWS IoT Greengrass and Amazon S3
  • A Raspberry Pi 5 running Raspberry Pi OS
  • An NVIDIA Jetson Thor device running JetPack 7.1 or later
  • Familiarity with AWS IoT Core and basic cloud concepts

Summary

AI-assisted

This summary was drafted with an approved AI-assisted workflow and reviewed by Arm contributors before publication. Human technical review remains part of the process so the final page reflects engineering rigor, accuracy, and Arm editorial standards.

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You’ll configure two Arm devices as AWS IoT Greengrass core devices, build a custom component that checks Pointer Authentication (PAC) and Branch Target Identification (BTI), and deploy that component to both targets via a Greengrass thing group. You’ll upload the component artifact to Amazon S3, create a Greengrass deployment in the AWS console, and use MQTT to trigger the checks. The Raspberry Pi 5 (Armv8.2-A) serves as a negative comparison for PAC/BTI, while the Jetson Thor (Armv9-A) provides a positive control. By completing the steps, you’ll compare per-device results and recognize unsupported versus supported PAC/BTI behavior across Armv8 and Armv9 platforms.
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