As the number and type of cyberattacks, from the “simple and cheap” to the “expensive and sophisticated,” continues to grow at a dramatic pace, protection of chips and devices must employ a defense in depth strategy. In this way, if an attacker successfully bypasses a mechanism of protection, they’ll face another layer of defense, rather than a clear path to the assets they seek to exploit. In this blog, we’ll talk about some of the protections security architects can marshal to build a defense in depth.
Security IP
Power Grids Under Attack
Cyberattacks are becoming as troublesome to the electrical power grid as natural disasters, and the problem is growing worse as these grids become more connected and smarter. Unlike in the past, when a power outage affected just the electricity supplied to homes and businesses, power grids are becoming core elements of smart cities, infrastructure, and safety-related services. Without power, none of this works, and sophisticated cybercriminal operations can hold large regions hostage until they pay enormous ransoms or give into other demands.
Security Verification Of Rambus’ CryptoManager Root Of Trust By Tortuga Logic
The confidentiality and integrity of cryptographic key material is critical to maintaining system security. A hardware root of trust, such as the Rambus CryptoManager Root of Trust, is designed to securely generate, store, and employ cryptographic keys. Tortuga Logic has independently verified the policies surrounding access to keys stored within registers in the CryptoManager Root of Trust using its Radix pre-silicon security verification platform.
COVID-19: An Unlikely Thread Tying the Climate to the Chip Market
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed our economy and its participants to a stress level we’ve only seen a small handful of times throughout recorded history — the last being the Great Depression nearly 90 years ago. According to data from the International Monetary Fund, the cumulative loss to global GDP over 2020 and 2021 from the current pandemic crisis could be $9 trillion, greater than the economies of Japan and Germany combined.
Protecting Chiplet Architectures With Hardware Security
Chiplets are gaining significant traction as they provide compelling benefits for advancing semiconductor performance, costs, and time to market. With Moore’s Law slowing, building more powerful chips translates into building bigger chips. But with chip dimensions pushing up against reticle limits, growing the size of chips is increasingly impractical. Chiplets offer a new path forward by disaggregating large monolithic integrated circuits (ICs) into smaller pieces that can be harnessed together in a system-in-package (SiP).
Protecting against cybergeddon
Counterfeit chips, including gray market and rogue chips, have created an ongoing, multi-front battle for the semiconductor market to the tune of $75 billion annually, according to ResearchAndMarkets.com. The threat is more significant and broader than the chip maker’s bottom line. Counterfeit chips have numerous hidden dangers, including higher failure rates, corruption of data that can cause a system malfunction, exfiltration or stealing of proprietary information, and making systems vulnerable to cyberattacks. If we look at lessons from the past, the market could be at an elevated risk now.
