Ersa - Invited Talk/Lecture: Addressing The Challenges Of Hardware Assurance In Reconfigurable Systems

摘要

Despite the numerous advantages of nanometer technologies, the increase in complexity also introduces a viable vector for attacking an integrated circuit (IC): a hardware attack, also known as a hardware Trojan. Since such an attack is implemented within the hardware of a design, it is generally undetectable to any software operating on this circuitry. To make matters worse, a hardware attack could be introduced at almost any point in a design's development cycle, be it through third-party intellectual property (IP) licensed for a design, or through unknown modifications made during the fabrication process. This malicious hardware could act as a kill-switch for a vital device, or as a data-leak for sensitive information. Activation would occur at some predetermined time or by a trigger from a malicious agent. An effective method is required to find such unexpected functionality. This paper describes several key challenges to be addressed in order to provide hardware assurance for trustworthy systems. We examine the platform of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) both for their potential vulnerability to threats within third-party IP as well as their capability to accelerate the testing of those modules.