Advanced Encryption Techniques for the Prevention of Reverse Engineering of the Programming Code in Military and Space Custom ICs and FPGAs

We propose the development of advanced encryption techniques to make integrated circuits more secure against unauthorized intrusion, specifically the use of innovative embedded techniques to make reprogramming of high performance deep sub-micron or nano-scale FPGA or custom ASIC systems by other than the intended recipient essentially impossible. The specific concerns addressed in this proposal regard the use of ICs having strategic importance, e.g., radiation hardened FPGAs, gate arrays, and other devices, being used by potential aggressors. As discussed in this overview, we are developing a methodology that is algorithmically robust since we make the worst-case assumption that the algorithm used to protect the device will be known or discovered by an attacker (e.g., through methodical reverse engineering). Such “deconstruction” has become common in the IC industry to the point where it is a routine part of competitive analysis at large IC manufacturers. Services are commercially available and deconstruction reports are available online for a fee. This makes the logic of any device available to any potential aggressor with sufficient resources. Consequently, a level of security that makes use of the devices themselves more expensive than fabricating copies is sufficient.