System for preventing tampering with integrated circuit

Abstract

A system for generating a tamper detection signal indicating tampering with one or more circuits of an integrated circuit (IC) includes a tamper detection module, and wire-pairs connected to the tamper detection module and arranged in a winding configuration to form a wire-mesh. The wire-mesh is placed a predefined distance from the circuits. The tamper detection module generates and provides serial bit-streams to the wire-pairs for detecting a breach in the wire-mesh by an external probe.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention generally relates to integrated circuits, and more particularly, to a system for preventing tampering of an integrated circuit.[0002]Integrated circuits (ICs), such as those used in set-top boxes, engine control units (ECUs), and cryptographic systems, often store sensitive information including personal data, financial transaction authorization codes, security passwords, and secure session keys, and thus are prone to unauthorized access by hackers. A known technique used by hackers to gain access to information residing in an IC is micro-probing. Micro-probing involves forming an electrical contact with the IC by dropping fine-tipped probe needles directly on the point of interest of the IC, or on an area of the IC to which the point of interest is connected. The probe needles are held by a micro-manipulator that is controlled by the hacker to precisely land the probe needle on the IC.[0003]To protect ICs from micro-probing, st...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The wire-mesh technology makes it difficult for hackers to probe it because the bit sequence that is sent to the wire-pairs changes quickly. The hacker only has a small time-window to fix any issues with the wire-pairs. They also don't have access to the reference clock that's used to create the bit sequence, which makes it harder for them to accurately identify the break in the sequence. Additionally, the wire-mesh technology disables a glitch filter, which increases the noise when the hacker tries to trace the bit sequence.

Problems solved by technology

Integrated circuits (ICs), such as those used in set-top boxes, engine control units (ECUs), and cryptographic systems, often store sensitive information including personal data, financial transaction authorization codes, security passwords, and secure session keys, and thus are prone to unauthorized access by hackers.

Although the static wire-mesh is efficient in thwarting direct micro-probing attempts, the static voltages used for detecting intrusions render the static wire-mesh vulnerable to being cut and easily bypassed.

Further, since the wire segments are at constant potential, a hacker has a time for shorting and cutting the wire segments without activating the tampering lines and setting off the self-erase sequence.

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