SBIR-STTR Award

Physical Unclonable Functions (“PUFs”), originally developed at MIT by the principal investigator, and as evidenced by recently completed DARPA-funded research, hold promise to significantly enhance the security of commodity ICs used in defense systems. PUFs are innovative circuit primitives that extract secrets from complex physical characteristics of ICs. PUFs offer several potential advantages over conventional approaches that store secrets in memory (e.g., battery-backed RAM, fuses, or EEPROM). First, PUFs increase physical security by generating reliable volatile secrets that exist in a digital form only when a chip is powered and using the secret. In addition to its physical security, even the IC manufacturer cannot clone PUF-enabled ICs because random manufacturing variation cannot be controlled or easily modeled. In addition, PUF secrets are automatically determined during the fabrication process and do not require a separate hardware programming step. Furthermore, RAM is volatile unless battery backed, making it inappropriate for storing secrets in individual ICs before assembly. Non-volatile memory is vulnerable to physical attack and often requires hard-programming before packaging, whereas PUF-keys can be securely soft-programmed post-manufacture. PUFCO, working with Lockheed Martin Corporation, proposes to evaluate the suitability of PUF circuits as a cryptographically robust candidate RADIATION HARDENED anti-tamper technology.

Keywords:
Puf, Unclonable Hardware, Radiation Effects, Single Event Effects, Single Event Transients, Foreign-Made Ics, Secure Ics

Integrated Circuits in sensitive defense systems need to address the consequences of diverse and constantly evolving security threats from out-sourced overseas foundries, globalized supply chains, hostile operating environments and, furthermore, must be resistant to high levels of radiation exposure. In our Phase I SBIR effort we investigated: (a) devising a testing methodology to assess how susceptible PUF circuits are, indeed, to high levels of radiation exposure; and (b) defined specific use-case scenarios in which Physical Unclonable Functions in ICs could be applied to build radiation-hardened anti-tamper components in foreign fabrication facilities in ways that safeguard against an adversary securing critical technology. A test methodology that measures PUF characteristics such as intra-chip and inter-chip variation has been devised, and several use-case scenarios have been identified. This Phase II proposal extends the effort to conduct radiation testing and authentication of PUF technology in ASIC devices and plan for the technology transition to commercial and DoD markets by identifying specific platforms. ICs in defense applications that PUFs can be used for security are: Authentication

Keywords:
Authentication, Pufs, Anti-Tamper, Radiation Test, Unclonable, Security, Cryptographic, Substitution