Enhanced security features for Commodity Integrated Circuits

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.