Seminar:
Security Assurance of Microelectronics Against Physical Attacks: The Last Line of Defense

ABSTRACT

Microelectronic devices touch every aspect of our lives, storing sensitive information, from cryptographic keys to personal details. Numerous attacks target these devices throughout their supply chain lifecycle, necessitating robust security measures. The system's integrity relies on hardware, making it crucial to fortify against physical attacks such as in-field tampering, reverse engineering, and counterfeiting. Compromised hardware poses severe risks to individuals, enterprises, and national security. Early security assessments and countermeasures are imperative, as protecting hardware establishes the root of trust as the last line of defense. In this talk, I will outline my endeavors to enhance the security of microelectronics, focusing on countering physical attacks like fault injection, side-channel, and reverse engineering. First, I will address security challenges and vulnerability assessment during the design stage, proposing innovative solutions to fortify against fault injection attacks. Next, I will navigate through the realm of side-channel attacks, introducing novel solutions ranging from sensors to polymorphic circuits that demonstrate resilience against various physical threats. Finally, I will introduce an efficient IC camouflaging technique to thwart reverse engineering. Concluding the presentation, I will discuss future research directions, including emerging interests in securing heterogeneously integrated ICs, radiation hard microelectronics, automotive vehicle security and reliability. Additionally, I will touch upon educational research on semiconductor workforce development. The research directions will provide valuable educational opportunities and socioeconomic impacts, as well as serve as a roadmap for advancing microelectronic security and reliability.

Tasnuva Farheen

University of Florida, Gainseville

Tasnuva Farheen is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida. The scope of her research includes the security of microelectronics, focusing on fault effect modeling, developing automated CAD tool flow for identifying security vulnerabilities, and finding the countermeasures for diverse physical attacks. Additionally, she did an internship at NVIDIA. Her research has been funded by NSF, AMTC, DARPA, NASA, ONR, and Intel Inc. She has authored eight papers in the top venues (including IEEE TVLSI, ICCAD, ITC, ISQED and ISTFA), one patent, and one book chapter. She was the best paper finalist in ISTFA 2021 and secured the honorable mention Award in WISE 2022."