Fault Attack Detection Circuit for Embedded Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies lack the capability to detect fault attacks on embedded electronic circuits, such as chip cards, where short successive interruptions of the power supply are performed, allowing malicious individuals to reconstruct the program or obtain secret data.
Innovation Solution
An electronic circuit and method that includes a power supply interruption detection circuit, a comparator for determining interruption duration, and a counter to track successive short interruptions, with an alert mechanism triggered when a threshold is exceeded, utilizing a MOS transistor and capacitor configuration to differentiate between short and long interruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If no detection device is implemented, then the circuit remains simple and operational, but the circuit becomes vulnerable to fault attacks where short successive interruptions of power supply can be performed undetected
Solution Approach 1:
The detection device proactively monitors power supply interruptions before they can be exploited for attacks. By continuously detecting and counting interruption events, the system prepares to block the circuit before malicious individuals can successfully reconstruct programs or obtain secret data through fault attacks.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection device acts as an intermediary between the power supply and the electronic circuit. It intercepts power supply interruptions, analyzes their duration and frequency, and determines whether they constitute attack patterns. This intermediary layer protects the circuit without requiring fundamental changes to the circuit's core functionality.
2Reliability
If the detection device blocks the circuit upon detecting attacks, then security is improved, but the circuit becomes non-operational during legitimate short interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The detection device uses parameter thresholds to distinguish between legitimate short interruptions and malicious fault attacks. By monitoring the duration and frequency of interruptions against predetermined criteria, the system can differentiate between normal operational variations and attack patterns, blocking only when attack characteristics are detected.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection device continuously monitors power supply conditions and provides feedback about interruption patterns. This feedback mechanism allows the system to adapt its response based on the detected pattern, blocking the circuit only when the interruption sequence matches attack characteristics rather than legitimate operational interruptions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively detects fault attacks by identifying sequences of short power supply interruptions, preventing malicious access by alerting or blocking the circuit, ensuring the security of embedded electronic systems.
Implementation Method 1
the circuit for detecting an interruption of the power supply comprises, between two terminals of application of a power supply voltage, a MOS transistor having its source, its drain, and its bulk connected together, the gate of the MOS transistor being connected to a first electrode of a capacitor
Data Source
AI summary
A device for detecting a fault attack, including: a circuit for detecting an interruption of a power supply; a circuit for comparing the duration of the interruption with a first threshold; and a counter of the number of successive interruptions of the power supply having a duration which does not exceed the first threshold.