Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
New methods and development processes will secure the design of trusted electronics in the future
For electronic components to be trusted in every sense, they must be protected against manipulations and know-how theft. On the other hand, it must be possible to verify and consult the original specifications after manufacture. So that these standards can also be implemented for the complex, international value chains of electronics manufacturing, we need new and improved design methods. This is where the VE-VIDES (Design Methods and HW/SW Co-Verification for the Unambiguous Identifiability of Electronic Components) research project comes in. As part of the project, researchers from our Engineering of Adaptive Systems EAS division are working with others on a holistic concept for the design of trusted electronics.
For properly thorough implementation, it is important to systematically identify potential security gaps during the design phase and protect electronic systems against attacks and IP theft with reliable mechanisms. It is particularly important to take into account the entire international production chains, which are still frequently opaque to European developers today.
The goal is to define measurable standards and criteria for components, the implementation of which can be tested and tracked after manufacturing.
The Fraunhofer IIS / EAS scientists are devising a new methodology for managing the complex requirements for trusted electronics. Their goal is to define measurable standards and criteria for components, the implementation of which can be tested and tracked after manufacturing. To this end, another focus of their work will be on processes for verifying typical integrated circuit IP. As a concrete implementation example, the project team will develop a trusted automotive design flow.
As a result of the collective efforts of all twelve of the project’s scientific and industrial partners, recommendations for action will be drawn up for the electronics industry, which will subsequently be standardized, all going to plan, paving the way for much greater transparency and traceability. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has granted 10 million euros of funding to the project as part of its flagship Trusted Electronics initiative.