Memory Access Verification via Point-of-Trust Address Checks
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Solution Overview
Problem
In secure data processing systems, components from different manufacturers can compromise data integrity and security due to malicious or poorly programmed third parties, leading to issues like aliasing, redirection, and interconnect corruption attacks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing point-of-trust circuitry to intercept memory access requests, establish secure communication channels, and perform integrity checks using pseudo-random numbers to verify the relationship between memory access requests and determine valid memory addresses, thereby ensuring secure communication and data integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If components from different manufacturers are combined in a system, then system adaptability and manufacturing ease are improved, but system security and data integrity deteriorate due to potential malicious or poorly programmed third-party components
Solution Approach 1:
A secure channel acts as an intermediary between the processing circuitry and point-of-trust circuitry, transmitting correspondence (expected address relationships) securely without being affected by intermediate circuits. This mediator protects the system from untrusted components while maintaining the ability to integrate multiple manufacturers' components.
2Reliability
If point-of-trust circuitry is added to verify memory access requests, then system security and data integrity are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary verification by comparing actual memory access addresses against pre-established correspondence (expected address relationships) transmitted through the secure channel. This preliminary check prevents unauthorized access before it can compromise system integrity, rather than requiring complex continuous monitoring.
3Reliability
If secure communication channels are implemented to transmit address correspondence, then system security is improved, but use of energy and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The secure channel transmits only the essential correspondence information (expected address relationships) rather than encrypting or verifying every single memory access request. This partial action approach provides sufficient security protection while minimizing energy consumption compared to comprehensive encryption of all communications.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a data processing apparatus, which is suitable for verifying memory systems. Processing circuitry issues a plurality of memory access requests to a plurality of addresses in a memory. Point-of-trust circuitry receives the memory access requests from the processing circuitry via a first set of intermediate circuits. Secure channel circuitry enables secure communication of a correspondence between the plurality of addresses from the processing circuitry to the point-of-trust circuitry. The point-of-trust circuitry determines whether the addresses in the memory of the memory access requests received via the first set of intermediate circuits have a predetermined relationship based on the correspondence.