Trusted and Secure Design of Analog/RF ICs: Recent Developments

• Published in: 2019 IEEE 25th International Symposium on On-Line Testing and Robust System Design (IOLTS) pp. 125 - 128
• Main Authors: Subramani, Kiruba, Volanis, Georgios, Bidmeshki, Mohammad-Mahdi, Antonopoulos, Angelos, Makris, Yiorgos
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.07.2019
• Subjects: Communication system security; Hardware; Integrated circuits; Security; Trojan horses; Wireless communication; Wireless sensor networks
• ISSN: 1942-9401
• DOI: 10.1109/IOLTS.2019.8854461

Unlike the extensive research effort that has been expended over the last 15 years in understanding the threats of hardware Trojans, piracy and counterfeiting of digital Integrated Circuits (ICs), and in developing appropriate prevention and detection solutions, the topic of security and trust remains in a rather nascent state for their analog/radio-frequency (RF) counterparts. Indeed, as shown in a recent survey, which summarized and presented the available body of knowledge in trusted and secure design of analog/RF ICs, our understanding of the pertinent threats and our ability to thwart them through existing solutions are both rather limited. However, given the widespread use of analog functionality (i.e., physical interfaces, sensors, actuators, wireless communications, etc.) in most contemporary systems, comprehending their vulnerabilities and devising pertinent remedies is urgently required. In this paper, we discuss the limitations of the current state-of-the-art in this field, we highlight recent developments, and we suggest research directions and steps to be taken toward designing, fabricating and deploying trusted and secure analog/RF ICs.