Ten years of hardware Trojans: a survey from the attacker's perspective. Issue 6 (30th September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xue, Mingfu; Gu, Chongyan; Liu, Weiqiang; Yu, Shichao; O'Neill, Máire
• Is Part Of: IET computers & digital techniques. Volume 14:Issue 6(2020)
• Page Start: 231
• Page End: 246
• Publication Date: 2020-09-30
• Subjects: invasive software -- field programmable gate arrays -- industrial property -- integrated circuit manufacture -- integrated circuit design -- integrated circuit testing -- circuit CAD; hardware Trojan detection techniques -- hardware Trojan design -- in‐house design team attacks -- third‐party intellectual property vendor attacks -- fabrication stage attacks -- distribution stage attacks -- hardware Trojan attack scenarios -- field‐programmable gate array Trojan attacks -- computer‐aided design tool attacks -- hardware Trojan defences -- hardware Trojan implementation methods -- adversarial model -- overhead analysis -- copyright owner -- integrated circuit industry; Computers -- Periodicals; Digital electronics -- Periodicals; Computer engineering -- Periodicals; Computer architecture -- Periodicals; Computer organization -- Periodicals; 621.39
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-cdt.2020.0041
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-8601

Abstract

Abstract : Hardware Trojan detection techniques have been studied extensively. However, to develop reliable and effective defenses, it is important to figure out how hardware Trojans are implemented in practical scenarios. The authors attempt to make a review of the hardware Trojan design and implementations in the last decade and also provide an outlook. Unlike all previous surveys that discuss Trojans from the defender's perspective, for the first time, the authors study the Trojans from the attacker's perspective, focusing on the attacker's methods, capabilities, and challenges when the attacker designs and implements a hardware Trojan. First, the authors present adversarial models in terms of the adversary's methods, adversary's capabilities, and adversary's challenges in seven practical hardware Trojan implementation scenarios: in‐house design team attacks, third‐party intellectual property vendor attacks, computer‐aided design tools attacks, fabrication stage attacks, testing stage attacks, distribution stage attacks, and field‐programmable gate array Trojan attacks. Second, the authors analyse the hardware Trojan implementation methods under each adversarial model in terms of seven aspects/metrics: hardware Trojan attack scenarios, the attacker's motivation, feasibility, detectability (anti‐detection capability), protection and prevention suggestions for the designer, overhead analysis, and case studies of Trojan implementations. Finally, future directions on hardware Trojan attacks and defenses are also discussed.