diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 5536211db..2f96a7c95 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ variables:
   V: "0"
   MAKEFLAGS: "-j5 --no-keep-going"
   IDF_PATH: "$CI_PROJECT_DIR/esp-idf"
+  IDF_GITHUB_REPO: "https://github.com/espressif"
 
 build_demo:
   stage: build
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ build_demo:
     - echo -e "Host gitlab.espressif.cn\n\tStrictHostKeyChecking no\n" >> ~/.ssh/config
     - git --version
     - git submodule update --init --recursive
-    - git clone --recursive --depth 1 $GITLAB_SSH_SERVER/idf/esp-idf.git
+    - git clone --recursive --branch master --depth 1 $IDF_GITHUB_REPO/esp-idf.git
     - export PATH="$IDF_PATH/tools:$PATH"
     - cd esp-idf
     - ./install.sh
diff --git a/Kconfig b/Kconfig
index 0e41d9689..8857af10a 100644
--- a/Kconfig
+++ b/Kconfig
@@ -72,6 +72,18 @@ config AWS_IOT_MQTT_MAX_RECONNECT_WAIT_INTERVAL
         Maximum delay between reconnection attempts. If the exponentially increased delay
         interval reaches this value, the client will stop automatically attempting to reconnect.
 
+config AWS_IOT_USE_HARDWARE_SECURE_ELEMENT
+    bool "Use the hardware secure element for authenticating TLS connections"
+    depends on ATCA_MBEDTLS_ECDSA
+    select ATCA_MBEDTLS_ECDSA_SIGN
+    select ATCA_MBEDTLS_ECDSA_VERIFY
+    help
+        Enable this option to use the hardware secure element for the TLS. If you have added the
+        esp-cryptoauthlib (https://github.com/espressif/esp-cryptoauthlib) as a component in your project.
+        This will let the user to specify a slot number from the chip (in the format "#0"
+        where the digit is the slot number to use) which contains the stored private key.
+        Please refer to the component README for more details.
+
 menu "Thing Shadow"
 
     config AWS_IOT_OVERRIDE_THING_SHADOW_RX_BUFFER
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 57b5b1619..4386c51f9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -12,3 +12,30 @@ This framework enables AWS IoT cloud connectivity with ESP32 based platforms usi
   - ESP-IDF can be downloaded from https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/
   - ESP-IDF v3.1 and above is recommended version
 - Please refer to [example README](examples/README.md) for more information on setting up examples
+
+## Using an ATECC608A with the ESP-AWS-IoT
+   The `esp-aws-iot` contains the support for using a `secure element` chip from microchip i.e. `ATECC608A`. This will store the private key used for the TLS communication in the `secure element` which has the hardware security. The module [ESP32-WROOM-32SE](https://www.espressif.com/sites/default/files/documentation/esp32-wroom-32se_datasheet_en.pdf) which integrates the `ATECC608A`, can be readily used for this purpose. To use the `secure element` for the TLS, configure the project with help of the following steps.
+> To use the `secure element`(ATECC608A) for the TLS connection, it must be already configured. Please refer to the [eps_cryptoauth_utility](https://github.com/espressif/esp-cryptoauthlib/tree/master/esp_cryptoauth_utility) for more details.
+### Project Configuration
+
+1. Add [esp-cryptoauthlib](https://github.com/espressif/esp-cryptoauthlib) as a component to your project with the help of following commands,
+    (First change directory (cd) to your project directory)
+```
+    mkdir components
+    cd components
+    git clone https://github.com/espressif/esp-cryptoauthlib.git
+```
+2. Enable the mbedtls ECDSA support in esp-cryptoauthlib with the following config (`idf.py menuconfig`) option,
+    `menuconfig->Component config->esp-cryptoauthlib->Enable Hardware ECDSA keys for mbedTLS`
+
+3. Enable support for hardware secure element with the following config (`idf.py menuconfig`) option,
+    `menuconfig->Component config->Amazon Web Services IoT Platform->Use the hardware secure element for authenticating TLS connections`
+
+4. Ensure that you call the function `atcab_init` in the application to initialise the `secure_element` before you use the AWS IoT component.
+
+5. Project TLS configuration -
+
+    i) If you have the `Trust&GO` type of ATECC608A chip then you can set `mqttInitParams.pDeviceCertLocation = "#"` in your project. It will make the `esp-aws-iot` read the certificate from `ATECC608A` and use it for the TLS. For the other types of ATECC608A chips, you will need to provide the certificate externally (embed the certificate).
+
+    ii) Tell the `esp-aws-iot` to find the client private key in a slot by setting `mqttInitParams.pDevicePrivateKeyLocation = “#0”` in your project, where the digit 0 indicates the slot in the ATECC608A in which the private key is stored.  In most circumstances, the key will be stored in slot 0.
+> Along with the secure element configurations you will have to perform additional example specific configurations (if required).
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/port/network_mbedtls_wrapper.c b/port/network_mbedtls_wrapper.c
index a9f6e5e18..d7ceb965e 100644
--- a/port/network_mbedtls_wrapper.c
+++ b/port/network_mbedtls_wrapper.c
@@ -26,6 +26,12 @@
 
 #include "mbedtls/esp_debug.h"
 
+#ifdef CONFIG_AWS_IOT_USE_HARDWARE_SECURE_ELEMENT
+#include "mbedtls/atca_mbedtls_wrap.h"
+#include "tng_atca.h"
+#include "tng_atcacert_client.h"
+#endif
+
 #include "esp_log.h"
 #include "esp_vfs.h"
 
@@ -154,6 +160,18 @@ IoT_Error_t iot_tls_connect(Network *pNetwork, TLSConnectParams *params) {
     ESP_LOGD(TAG, "ok (%d skipped)", ret);
 
     /* Load client certificate... */
+#ifdef CONFIG_AWS_IOT_USE_HARDWARE_SECURE_ELEMENT
+    if (pNetwork->tlsConnectParams.pDeviceCertLocation[0] == '#') {
+        const atcacert_def_t* cert_def = NULL;
+        ESP_LOGD(TAG, "Using certificate stored in ATECC608A");
+        ret = tng_get_device_cert_def(&cert_def);
+        if (ret == 0) {
+            ret = atca_mbedtls_cert_add(&(tlsDataParams->clicert), cert_def);
+        } else {
+            ESP_LOGE(TAG, "failed! could not load cert from ATECC608A, tng_get_device_cert_def returned %02x", ret);
+        }
+    } else
+#endif
     if (pNetwork->tlsConnectParams.pDeviceCertLocation[0] == '/') {
         ESP_LOGD(TAG, "Loading client cert from file...");
         ret = mbedtls_x509_crt_parse_file(&(tlsDataParams->clicert),
@@ -170,6 +188,21 @@ IoT_Error_t iot_tls_connect(Network *pNetwork, TLSConnectParams *params) {
     }
 
     /* Parse client private key... */
+#ifdef CONFIG_AWS_IOT_USE_HARDWARE_SECURE_ELEMENT
+    if (pNetwork->tlsConnectParams.pDevicePrivateKeyLocation[0] == '#') {
+        int8_t slot_id = pNetwork->tlsConnectParams.pDevicePrivateKeyLocation[1] - '0';
+        if (slot_id < 0 || slot_id > 9) {
+            ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Invalid ATECC608A slot ID.");
+            ret = NETWORK_PK_PRIVATE_KEY_PARSE_ERROR;
+        } else {
+            ESP_LOGD(TAG, "Using ATECC608A private key from slot %d", slot_id);
+            ret = atca_mbedtls_pk_init(&(tlsDataParams->pkey), slot_id);
+            if (ret != 0) {
+                ESP_LOGE(TAG, "failed !  atca_mbedtls_pk_init returned %02x", ret);
+            }
+        }
+    } else
+#endif
     if (pNetwork->tlsConnectParams.pDevicePrivateKeyLocation[0] == '/') {
         ESP_LOGD(TAG, "Loading client private key from file...");
         ret = mbedtls_pk_parse_keyfile(&(tlsDataParams->pkey),