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Presenter: Samer Moein
Supervisor: Dr. Fayez Gebali and Dr. T. Aaron Gulliver

Date: Mon, October 5, 2015
Time: 11:00:00 - 11:30:00
Place: EOW 430

ABSTRACT

Abstract:

This work examines hardware trojan threats for semiconductor chips intended for critical infrastructure and applications. The phases of the chip production life-cycle are reviewed and opportunities for trojan insertion are examined. Trojans are classified using a comprehensive attribute taxonomy based on eight categories. A matrix identifying the causal relationships between these attributes is defined. This matrix is used to characterize hardware trojans from both the attacker and defender perspectives.

The proposed methodology is flexible and can be used with any hardware trojan classification. Further, new attributes based on technology or chip manufacturing developments can easily be accommodated. As with any circuit, a hardware trojan goes through several production phases as it becomes embedded into the target system. Therefore, studying the life cycle along with other attributes will provide a better insight into the insertion phase, functionality, logic type, physical characteristics, and location of a trojan.

This approach has two major advantages over existing results. First, the relationships between the hardware trojan attributes are clearly defined based on a comprehensive taxonomy with eight categories. Second, the production life-cycle of a chip is used to determine how and where a trojan can be inserted into a chip. The relationships between the attributes can be used to identify missing trojan attributes. This information can be employed to improve chip security during manufacturing, develop trojan detection techniques, and assess chips when covert attacks occur.