Project SyPASS: Reliable detection of Hardware Trojans

In areas where personal or security-critical data is processed in particular – such as medical technology, autonomous driving and critical infrastructures – trustworthy electronic ICT components and systems are becoming increasingly important as digitalization gathers pace. Researchers at Fraunhofer EMFT primarily focus on the hardware level here.

Detect Hardware Trojans
© MEV-Verlag

in the BMBF-funded projects SyPASS (reference: 16KIS0669) and RESEC (reference: 16KIS1008), Infineon AG, Raith GmbH, TU Munich and Fraunhofer EMFT are collaborating to develop methods for the retrograde preparation of highly integrated safety circuits so as recover layout information. Comparison with design data is to ensure reliable detection of Hardware Trojans. The particular hallenges confronting this project are the structures and layer thicknesses of less than 10 nm in the preparation, the stability of the mapping using scanning electron microscopy and finally the synthesis and analysis of huge quantities of data. AI methods are also increasingly being used in this context.

The technical prerequisites for these projects are systems for nanoscale preparation and analysis, which were procured primarily through the BMBF-funded project Research Fab Microelectronics Germany FMD (reference: 16FMD01K), and a safety lab set-up as part of SyPASS certified according to Common Criteria EAL6 so as to be able to examine safety components of the very highest classification. The TRAICT project, funded by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft as part of the COVID InnoPush Initiative 2020, enabled successful synergetic networking of several Fraunhofer institutes to demonstrate various analytical methods using the example of a current 5G router with a central 7 nm CMOS device. This was coordinated as part of TRAICT by Fraunhofer EMFT. Cross-network follow-up projects are envisaged to address this complex subject in the long term with the aim of providing “trustworthy electronics” in an international environment, too, in the face of growing technological challenges.

 

 

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