Obfuscation of Digital Systems using Isomorphic Cells and Split Fabrication

Masoud, Mohamad A.; Alkabani, Yousra; El-Kharashi, M. Watheq

doi:10.1109/icces.2018.8639248

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Results for the smallest and largest circuits are shown in Table 9. Another study using look-alike cells is reported by Masoud et al [38] where the goal remains to make the attacker unable to distinguish cells and their inputs/outputs, thus mitigating attacks to some degree. In this study, two types of search algorithms are proposed to replace cells for isomorphic cells.…”

Section: Layout Obfuscationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Survey on Split Manufacturing: Attacks, Defenses, and Challenges

Perez

Pagliarini

2020

IEEE Access

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In today's integrated circuit (IC) ecosystem, owning a foundry is not economically viable, and therefore most IC design houses are now working under a fabless business model. In order to overcome security concerns associated with the outsorcing of IC fabrication, the Split Manufacturing technique was proposed. In Split Manufacturing, the Front End of Line (FEOL) layers (transistors and lower metal layers) are fabricated at an untrusted high-end foundry, while the Back End of Line (BEOL) layers (higher metal layers) are manufactured at a trusted low-end foundry. This approach hides the BEOL connections from the untrusted foundry, thus preventing overproduction and piracy threats. However, many works demonstrate that BEOL connections can be derived by exploiting layout characteristics that are introduced by heuristics employed in typical floorplanning, placement, and routing algorithms. Since straightforward Split Manufacturing may not afford a desirable security level, many authors propose defense techniques to be used along with Split Manufacturing. In our survey, we present a detailed overview of the technique, the many types of attacks towards Split Manufacturing, as well as possible defense techniques described in the literature. For the attacks, we present a concise discussion on the different threat models and assumptions, while for the defenses we classify the studies into three categories: proximity perturbation, wire lifting, and layout obfuscation. The main outcome of our survey is to highlight the discrepancy between many studiessome claim netlists can be reconstructed with near perfect precision, while others claim marginal success in retrieving BEOL connections. Finally, we also discuss future trends and challenges inherent to Split Manufacturing, including the fundamental difficulty of evaluating the efficiency of the technique.

show abstract

Section: Layout Obfuscationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, two types of search algorithms are proposed to replace cells for isomorphic cells. In contrast with [29] where all cells are replaced, in [38], only cells with high impact on the security are replaced. Thus, the overhead introduced by cell replacement can be controlled (i.e., a trade-off is established).…”

Section: Layout Obfuscationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey on Split Manufacturing: Attacks, Defenses, and Challenges

Perez

Pagliarini

2020

IEEE Access

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…9. Another study using look-alike cells is reported by Masoud et al [36] where the goal remains to make the attacker unable to distinguish cells and their inputs/outputs, thus mitigating attacks to some degree. In this study, two types of search algorithms are proposed to replace cells for isomorphic cells.…”

Section: Layout Obfuscationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, two types of search algorithms are proposed to replace cells for isomorphic cells. In contrast with [27] where all cells are replaced, in [36], only cells with high impact on the security are replaced. Thus, the overhead introduced by cell replacement can be controlled (i.e., a trade-off is established).…”

Section: Layout Obfuscationmentioning

confidence: 99%