Covert Channel Communication as an Emerging Security Threat in 2.5D/3D Integrated Systems

Abstract

In this paper, first, a broad overview of existing covert channel communication-based security attacks is provided. Such covert channels establish a communication link between two entities that are not authorized to share data. The secret data is encoded into different forms of signals, such as delay, temperature, or hard drive location. These signals and information are then decoded by the receiver to retrieve the secret data, thereby mitigating some of the existing security measures. The important steps of covert channel attacks are described, such as data encoding, communication protocol, data decoding, and models to estimate communication bandwidth and bit error rate. Countermeasures against covert channels and existing covert channel detection techniques are also summarized. In the second part of the paper, the implications of such attacks for emerging packaging technologies, such as 2.5D/3D integration are discussed. Several covert channel threat models for 2.5D/3D ICs are also proposed.

Network Covert Channels

“…Miketic et al [1] indicated that host-based, network-based, and physical are the three basic categories into which covert channels fall. The timing and storage characteristics of the host system are usually altered in host-based covert channels.…”

“…Wendzel et al [16] divide network covert storage channels into two categories: (i) techniques that change header fields or other non-payload elements and (ii) techniques Covert channel types [1].…”

“…A communication channel between two parties (sender and recipient) that are not permitted to exchange information is known as a covert channel [1]. A significant area of study in information concealment is covert communication, which uses hidden routes to send information covertly.…”