Bridging the Hardware-Software Gap: A Proof Carrying Approach for Computer Systems Trust Evaluation (5.3.5)

Abstract

The globalization of the semiconductor supply chain has significantly lowered the design cost and shortened the time-to-market (TTM) of Integrated Circuits (ICs) in the electronic industry. Over the years, the semiconductor industry has been restructured and has made significant adjustments to adapt to the trend of globalization. The fabless semiconductor companies have focused on high-profit phases such as design, marketing, and sales and have outsourced chip manufacturing, wafer fabrication, assembly, and packaging to third-party companies. The growth of fabless companies has also helped in the proliferation of the intellectual property(IP) industry. The use and reuse of existing commercial IPs has enabled improvements in TTM and cost reduction. Due to globalization of the semiconductor supply chain, companies and governments have decentralized control over this industry. As a consequence, tracking the source of third-party IP cores and monitoring fabrication processes within the foundries has become increasingly difficult, creating unique security concerns for the semiconductor industry. Vulnerabilities in the pre- and post-silicon stages of an IC supply chain may cause IP piracy and allow inclusion of Trojan circuits, which can hinder the growth of the hardware industry.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 22, 2017
Accession Number
AD1051263

Entities

People

  • Yier Jin

Organizations

  • University of Central Florida

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Autonomy
  • C4I
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computational Science
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Cybersecurity
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Electronic Mail
  • Formal Languages
  • Information Science
  • Instruction Set Architecture
  • Malware
  • Microarchitecture
  • Operating Systems
  • Software Design
  • Test Methods

Readers

  • Economics
  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Software Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics