Secure Physical Design Roadmap Enabling End-To-End Trustworthy IC Design Flow


The FICS Research Institute (University of Florida) has published a new research paper titled "Secure Physical Design." This is the first and most comprehensive research work done in this area that requires significant attention from academia, industry, and government for ensuring trust in electronic design automation flow," said lead author Sukanta Dey. Abstract "An integrated circuit is s... » read more

How Do I Come To Trust An Electronic Component?


Can I trust all of the electronic systems in my vehicle, for example if I’m driving my car at a high speed on the highway or in city traffic at a confusing intersection? Will all of the vehicle’s sensors work as they should and correctly recognize all of the possible dangers around me? In modern vehicles and complex industrial plants today, a number of sensors and many electronic compone... » read more

Trust Is Not A Good Feeling


As a society, we trust in a lot of things in order for our daily lives to proceed. Trust is embedded in our lives. We trust in everything from the products we use to our relationships we have to our government. But when our trust is broken or shaken in something or someone, it is hard very hard for to for us to have confidence in that something or someone again. If we apply the concept to of... » read more

Welcome To 6 Minutes Of Security


Yet another blog on security! Oh, wait, this is hardware security – and trust. While secure hardware should be free from vulnerabilities in general, I use the term trust to refer to the belief that a semiconductor intellectual property (IP) or integrated circuit (IC) is free from malicious, intentionally inserted vulnerabilities. Hardware security is on the rise. The media is helping. ... » read more

A Glossary For Chip And Semiconductor IP Security And Trust


A significant portion of electronic system vulnerabilities involves hardware. In 2015 the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE-MITRE) database recorded 6,488 vulnerabilities. A considerable proportion (43%) can be classified as software-assisted hardware vulnerabilities (see Fig. 1). The discovery of Meltdown and Spectre in January 2018 has sparked a series of investigations into hardware ... » read more

DoD Scratches Its Head Over Foundry Security


When the GlobalFoundries deal with IBM to acquire its foundries closes, as it is slated to sometime during 2015, the U.S. Department of Defense has a small problem on its hands. Military programs no longer will have access to a trusted fab to manufacture semiconductors. How do you ensure that the foundry did not modify or alter your design, add backdoor access or implement a remote control mech... » read more