Redundant Fuse Coding for Side Channel Attack Mitigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fuse sensing protocols are vulnerable to side channel attacks such as Differential Electromagnetic Analysis (DEMA), Differential Power Analysis (DPA), and Latent Trait Models (LTM), as they follow a predictable sequence, allowing hackers to determine fuse values and potentially manipulate them for unauthorized access.
Innovation Solution
Implementing on-die programmable fuses with a sequencer that randomly selects rows for programming, combined with redundant coding and randomized fuse sensing algorithms, to prevent predictable patterns and enhance security against such attacks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If fuse sensing is performed in a fixed predictable sequence, then the sensing process is simple and efficient, but the system becomes vulnerable to side channel attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The fuse sensing protocol transitions from a static fixed sequence to a dynamic randomized sequence. The row selection order is changed unpredictably between different sensing operations, making side channel attacks ineffective while maintaining the same underlying sensing mechanism. This is achieved by introducing randomization in the row address selection during fuse sensing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The protocol changes the temporal parameter of row selection by introducing random delays and varying the sequence of row addresses accessed. Instead of always accessing rows in order 0, 1, 2, 3..., the system randomly permutes this sequence, changing when each row is accessed without altering the fundamental sensing capability.
2Reliability
If redundant coding is implemented in fuse arrays, then security against attacks is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates multiple copies of the same security information encoded in different rows of the fuse array. Instead of storing a single critical value in one row, the same value is replicated across multiple rows with different address patterns. This redundancy ensures that even if some rows are compromised through side channel attacks, the original security information remains protected in other rows.
Solution Approach 2:
The security information is distributed across the two-dimensional fuse array structure rather than concentrated in a single location. By encoding the same information in multiple rows (vertical dimension) and potentially multiple columns (horizontal dimension), the system adds spatial redundancy that increases security without fundamentally changing the fuse technology itself.
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with some embodiments, fuse information may be written into a fuse array in a way that provides sufficient redundancy, making it harder for malicious parties to attack the fuse array.