Keynote: Hardware security considerations for low-energy digital circuits and systems

Security of electronic systems has been intensively research, covering systems used in computing, communication, environmental, biomedical, space, and many other applications. While software and network security is reasonably advanced, hardware security research is still in its infancy. This presentation reviews various types of attacks on low-energy digital circuits and systems popular in mobile, medical, and environmental applications. The paper describes selected methods to defend against these attacks both invasive and non-invasive, including authentication and cryptographic procedures. Using a simple model for digital circuit power, design considerations for power reduction are discussed from security perspectives. On-line detection of possible invasive attacks is emphasized.