Quantum Hybrid PUF

We propose to investigate a novel quantum hybrid-based Physical Unclonable Function (PUF). This project will draw on our team’s cybersecurity background, and the effort will align well with an existing project we have underway with the AFRL Quantum Photonics Lab in Rome, NY. Basically, PUFs are a hardware structure upon which a cryptographic root-of-trust (secure ID) is based. Due to the physical characteristics used to derive these IDs, they are practically impossible to duplicate. In the DoD, PUFs are used as the basis of secure ID. Three relevant applications are supply chain assurance (e.g., anti-counterfeiting), code signing (e.g. secure remote firmware updates) and message authentication (e.g. aircraft IFF systems).  Recently, advances in machine learning (ML) have exposed flaws in many current PUF designs, potentially compromising these critical DoD security applications and even endangering warfighter safety in the near term. In the future, quantum computer-based attacks may pose similar threats, as well as potentially jeopardizing the world’s public key infrastructure (PKI). In this project, we propose to investigate a new PUF architecture that is implemented using a hybrid quantum/classical structure. We will demonstrate how this dual-domain structure may improve robustness against ML-based attacks and potentially prove more resilient against future quantum computing threats. This project will undertake the theory and design of a quantum hybrid PUF. Specifically, we will describe the theory of how both quantum and classical effects can be used to construct a robust, inexpensive and stable ID that is unique and resilient against known attacks. Then we will complete the design of a prototype chip that can be fabricated at the AIM Photonics facility in Rochester NY, where we are currently building quantum photonic parts.