{"id":34849,"date":"2023-01-10T09:49:38","date_gmt":"2023-01-10T10:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/?p=34849"},"modified":"2023-01-10T11:40:59","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T11:40:59","slug":"hard-to-crack-hardware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/2023\/01\/10\/hard-to-crack-hardware\/","title":{"rendered":"Hard to crack hardware"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Next-generation electronic devices<\/a> could feature enhanced security systems built directly into their circuitry to help fend off malicious attacks. Protective \u201clogic locks\u201d \u2014 based on an advanced branch of electronics called spintronics \u2014 could be incorporated into the integrated circuits of electronic chips to defend chip security, KAUST researchers have shown.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A team of KAUST scientists has designed an integrated circuit logic lock that could represent a leap forward in protecting our electronic devices from cyberattacks. Illustration by KAUST \/ Heno Hwang<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe need for hardware-based security features reflects the globalized nature of modern electronics manufacture,\u201d explained Yehia Massoud, KAUST professor of electrical and computer engineering, and the director of the Innovative Technologies Laboratories. The labs span a broad range of technical areas including smart cities, autonomous systems, smart health, photonic metamaterials and nanotechnology.<\/p>\n

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Electronics companies usually employ large specialized, external foundries to produce their chips, which minimizes costs but introduces potential vulnerabilities to the supply chain. The circuit design could be illegally copied by an untrusted foundry for counterfeit chip production or maliciously modified by incorporating \u201chardware Trojans\u201d into the circuitry that detrimentally affects its behavior in some way.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo increase confidence in the globalized integrated circuit manufacturing chain, security approaches such as logic locking are now widely used,\u201d said Divyanshu Divyanshu, a doctoral student in Massoud\u2019s labs. To defend chip security, the ITL team designed an integrated circuit logic lock based on a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) component.<\/p>\n

Logic locking works like a combination lock, Divyanshu explained. Unless the correct \u201ckey\u201d combination signal is supplied to the lock, the circuit\u2019s operation is scrambled. \u201cThe keys to the lock are stored in tamper-proof memory, ensuring hardware security against several threat models,\u201d Divyanshu said.<\/p>\n

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The logic-locking behavior of the MTJ is based on spintronics, an emerging form of advanced electronics. \u201cSpintronics is a field of study in which a physical property of electrons called spin is exploited, in addition to their charge,\u201d Massoud explained. The MTJ\u2019s electronic output depends on the spin alignment of the electrons within it. Only when the MTJ receives the correct key signal input, however, does it produce the correct output for the protected circuit to function.<\/p>\n

Spin-based devices have several advantages compared to conventional silicon components, Massoud noted, including low operational voltage and no power consumption during standby. \u201cWith the advancement in fabrication methods, the possibility of using emerging spintronic device structures in the chip design has increased,\u201d he added. \u201cThese properties make spintronic devices a potential choice for exploring hardware security.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Spintronics could be ideal for the logic-locking task, the team\u2019s work has shown. \u201cOur next steps include the investigation of other spin-based devices to develop logic-locking blocks, with the help of state-of-the-art fabrication facilities available at KAUST,\u201d Massoud said.<\/p>\n

Source: KAUST<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n