4 research outputs found
SCAR: Power Side-Channel Analysis at RTL-Level
Power side-channel attacks exploit the dynamic power consumption of
cryptographic operations to leak sensitive information of encryption hardware.
Therefore, it is necessary to conduct power side-channel analysis for assessing
the susceptibility of cryptographic systems and mitigating potential risks.
Existing power side-channel analysis primarily focuses on post-silicon
implementations, which are inflexible in addressing design flaws, leading to
costly and time-consuming post-fabrication design re-spins. Hence, pre-silicon
power side-channel analysis is required for early detection of vulnerabilities
to improve design robustness. In this paper, we introduce SCAR, a novel
pre-silicon power side-channel analysis framework based on Graph Neural
Networks (GNN). SCAR converts register-transfer level (RTL) designs of
encryption hardware into control-data flow graphs and use that to detect the
design modules susceptible to side-channel leakage. Furthermore, we incorporate
a deep learning-based explainer in SCAR to generate quantifiable and
human-accessible explanation of our detection and localization decisions. We
have also developed a fortification component as a part of SCAR that uses
large-language models (LLM) to automatically generate and insert additional
design code at the localized zone to shore up the side-channel leakage. When
evaluated on popular encryption algorithms like AES, RSA, and PRESENT, and
postquantum cryptography algorithms like Saber and CRYSTALS-Kyber, SCAR,
achieves up to 94.49% localization accuracy, 100% precision, and 90.48% recall.
Additionally, through explainability analysis, SCAR reduces features for GNN
model training by 57% while maintaining comparable accuracy. We believe that
SCAR will transform the security-critical hardware design cycle, resulting in
faster design closure at a reduced design cost
Unlocking Hardware Security Assurance: The Potential of LLMs
System-on-Chips (SoCs) form the crux of modern computing systems. SoCs enable
high-level integration through the utilization of multiple Intellectual
Property (IP) cores. However, the integration of multiple IP cores also
presents unique challenges owing to their inherent vulnerabilities, thereby
compromising the security of the entire system. Hence, it is imperative to
perform hardware security validation to address these concerns. The efficiency
of this validation procedure is contingent on the quality of the SoC security
properties provided. However, generating security properties with traditional
approaches often requires expert intervention and is limited to a few IPs,
thereby resulting in a time-consuming and non-robust process. To address this
issue, we, for the first time, propose a novel and automated Natural Language
Processing (NLP)-based Security Property Generator (NSPG). Specifically, our
approach utilizes hardware documentation in order to propose the first hardware
security-specific language model, HS-BERT, for extracting security properties
dedicated to hardware design. To evaluate our proposed technique, we trained
the HS-BERT model using sentences from RISC-V, OpenRISC, MIPS, OpenSPARC, and
OpenTitan SoC documentation. When assessedb on five untrained OpenTitan
hardware IP documents, NSPG was able to extract 326 security properties from
1723 sentences. This, in turn, aided in identifying eight security bugs in the
OpenTitan SoC design presented in the hardware hacking competition, Hack@DAC
2022
Comfortable and Sustainable Dorm Temperatures: Analyzing Legacy Heating Infrastructure and Improving Controls at Princeton University
The largest global energy end-use is heat, which accounts for nearly half of the world’s final energy consumption for 2021, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Particularly, buildings alone consume 46% of the heat energy for space and water heating, while there are new cost-effective and higher efficiency technologies readily available on the market. Previous research has found that 28.1% of the energy consumed in residential buildings is wasted due to inefficient heating system use and oversetting thermostats. Many papers have concluded a need for easier and more interactive controls with feedback. Princeton University is undertaking massive construction and renovation plans to establish highly-efficient campus systems and infrastructure as a repeatable, innovative, and sustainable model for the world and reach its goal of Net Zero Emissions by 2046. Specifically, there are campus construction projects for steam-to-hot-water conversion for building heating systems to use a geo-exchange thermal energy-based hot water supply. However, there remains legacy hot-water heating technology in use in some Undergraduate Housing buildings, which do not have upgradation plans for at least the next 30 years. The disparity in user operability as well as the efficacy and efficiency of different technologies used in residential buildings, leads to dissatisfaction, low engagement, inefficient user behavior, and overall, high energy usage. This project aims to study the students’ experiences with heating system technologies on campus, analyze the legacy hot water systems and design cost-effective methods of improving the analog controls' efficacy for better user satisfaction and comfort. Future work proposed includes features for internet connectivity, improving user interaction and feedback, and employing additional sensor inputs for an accurate, intelligent control system
Cri du chat syndrome: A series of five cases
The cri du chat syndrome (CdCS) is a chromosomal deletion syndrome associated with a partial deletion of the short (p) arm of chromosome 5. We describe five children who were diagnosed to have CdCS by conventional cytogenetic analysis. The deletion was at 5p15 in four patients, whereas the fifth had a larger, more proximal deletion at 5p14. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis confirmed the deletion of the CdCS critical region at 5p15.2. All five children had global developmental delay and dysmorphism with microcephaly. The other clinical features were variable. Since the clinical diagnosis of CdCS may not always be evident because of the phenotypic heterogeneity, cytogenetic analysis is necessary to establish the diagnosis and confirm that the deletion involves the CdCS critical region. This will enable early intervention which plays an important role in improving the outcome