698
7 Countermeasures Against Hardware Trojans
Selection of virtual
sources
Standard software products and
untrusted intellectual property
Properties
Inspection programs
Virtual sources
Control signals
Fig. 7.19 Simplified structure of the SoC hardware sandbox design process [116]
tools that can easily automate the entire complex process of SoC design and ultimately
produce effective and reliable systems.
The design process suggested in paper [90] and detailed above is shown in
Fig. 7.19. As supposed, it starts with specification of requirements for the IP in
the sandbox, determining main safety properties and rules for their execution during
operation based on actual selected signals, as well as for the purpose of determining
all the necessary computing resources that shall be virtualized in each sandbox.
Selection of the required virtual resources. All computing resources that are to be
included in such designed sandbox can be selected either manually or automatically,
but in any case from the library of resources implemented by the customer in advance
in accordance with the interfaces previously used by these interfaces in the IP. For
instance, if a previously unchecked IP block needs to be connected to a standard USB
port on one side and the same UART port on the other side, it is possible to create
corresponding copies of the virtual USB and virtual UART, which can be accordingly
designed by an intruder with the required performance with corresponding clock
signal and corresponding baud rate, they can also be placed in the sandbox.
Creation of the library of virtual resources, which shall be included in the sandbox,
poses no real challenge for IP owners; however, since the behavior of virtual resources
here is usually the same as the behavior of their physical copies, one can expect that
the specifications previously used by developers with regard to the corresponding
physical resources can also be used here fairly effectively with little modifications.
Since they only serve as an intermediate link between IP in the sandbox and the
physical resource, they apparently shall ensure pairing of the corresponding physical resource with IP in the sandbox and pairing of the IP with the so-called virtual
resources. Security specialists still recommend using such special controller of physical resources for organization of truly effective management of data streams between
different interfaces. If a physical resource during the design phase is used by many
IPs in this single sandbox, each IP will be connected to its own physical resource, the
data exchange between such virtual and physical resources will certainly be effectively coordinated by the above controller of physical resources in this sandbox.
7 Countermeasures Against Hardware Trojans
Selection of virtual
sources
Standard software products and
untrusted intellectual property
Properties
Inspection programs
Virtual sources
Control signals
Fig. 7.19 Simplified structure of the SoC hardware sandbox design process [116]
tools that can easily automate the entire complex process of SoC design and ultimately
produce effective and reliable systems.
The design process suggested in paper [90] and detailed above is shown in
Fig. 7.19. As supposed, it starts with specification of requirements for the IP in
the sandbox, determining main safety properties and rules for their execution during
operation based on actual selected signals, as well as for the purpose of determining
all the necessary computing resources that shall be virtualized in each sandbox.
Selection of the required virtual resources. All computing resources that are to be
included in such designed sandbox can be selected either manually or automatically,
but in any case from the library of resources implemented by the customer in advance
in accordance with the interfaces previously used by these interfaces in the IP. For
instance, if a previously unchecked IP block needs to be connected to a standard USB
port on one side and the same UART port on the other side, it is possible to create
corresponding copies of the virtual USB and virtual UART, which can be accordingly
designed by an intruder with the required performance with corresponding clock
signal and corresponding baud rate, they can also be placed in the sandbox.
Creation of the library of virtual resources, which shall be included in the sandbox,
poses no real challenge for IP owners; however, since the behavior of virtual resources
here is usually the same as the behavior of their physical copies, one can expect that
the specifications previously used by developers with regard to the corresponding
physical resources can also be used here fairly effectively with little modifications.
Since they only serve as an intermediate link between IP in the sandbox and the
physical resource, they apparently shall ensure pairing of the corresponding physical resource with IP in the sandbox and pairing of the IP with the so-called virtual
resources. Security specialists still recommend using such special controller of physical resources for organization of truly effective management of data streams between
different interfaces. If a physical resource during the design phase is used by many
IPs in this single sandbox, each IP will be connected to its own physical resource, the
data exchange between such virtual and physical resources will certainly be effectively coordinated by the above controller of physical resources in this sandbox.