SoC Data Consistency Check Module for Tamper Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current secure data processing systems face challenges in maintaining high security and performance while preventing tampering with software, as they are vulnerable to reverse engineering and dynamic/static analysis attacks, which can lead to unauthorized modifications or bypassing of security measures.
Innovation Solution
A system on chip with two processors and a data consistency check module that verifies the consistency of data produced by both processors, stopping the process if errors are detected to prevent tampering, ensuring high security and performance by using a data consistency check module to compare results from identical program executions and activate error correction or interruption mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is encrypted within a security module to ensure secure processing, then security is improved, but the system becomes vulnerable to reverse engineering and dynamic/static analysis attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the processing into two separate processors (first processor and second processor) that execute identical instructions independently. Each processor operates separately but produces results that are compared for consistency, creating segmented execution paths that are harder to compromise through reverse engineering or analysis attacks.
Solution Approach 2:
The consistency check module continuously monitors and compares the results from both processors, providing feedback on whether the executions are consistent. This feedback mechanism detects tampering or analysis attacks by identifying discrepancies between the two independent execution paths, thereby maintaining security without requiring the system to be opaque to analysis.
2Reliability
If two processors execute identical instructions in lockstep to detect errors, then reliability is improved, but processing performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between two operational modes: a high-reliability mode where both processors execute and results are compared, and a high-performance mode where only one processor executes. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize for either reliability or performance based on the specific operational context, resolving the contradiction between the two objectives.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameter of processor activation - sometimes both processors are active for error detection, sometimes only one is active for performance. The consistency check module adjusts the number of active processors based on security requirements and performance needs, allowing flexible parameter adjustment to resolve the contradiction between reliability and productivity.
3Reliability
If the system stops processing upon error detection to prevent tampering, then security is improved, but processing continuity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different quality levels to different parts of the processing: critical security-related operations are executed with full consistency checking and will stop upon error detection, while non-critical operations may continue or be handled with reduced checking. This localized application of strict verification maintains security for important functions while preserving processing continuity for less critical tasks.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention aims to provide a method and a system on chip able to detect at once hardware and software errors to prevent manipulations for retrieving cryptographic keys, inserting or suppressing instructions to bypass security processes, modifying programs or memory content etc. The system on chip comprises a core including at least two processors, registers, and a data consistency check module. The core is connected to at least one set of memories containing zones for instructions of a first program and of a second program, said instructions being to be executed respectively by the first and second processor, which respectively produce and store result data into the registers and the memories. The data consistency check module is configured to verify conformity of the produced result data by comparing a test result obtained by carrying out a predetermined function F over one of the first or second result data with the corresponding second or first result data and to continue execution of instructions of each program when the comparison is successful, or stop execution when the comparison shows an error.