ACCORD SOLUTIONS, INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: FPGA devices provide a secure environment for execution of critical technology only if the

Description

FPGA devices provide a secure environment for execution of critical technology only if the configuration bitmap is kept from attackers. Side Channel Attacks (SCAs) may extract keys during AES-protected bitmap loading -- a serious problem for many anti-tamper system solutions. Accord proposes an SCA immune soft-processor as the crucial missing piece for providing tamper resistance during FPGA bitmap loading. Accord's CRIPTC processor inherently has a very high level of resistance to SCAs. In the proposed effort, Accord will analyze and benchmark test the CRIPTC Architecture"s SCA resistance. Using these results Accord will design specialized modifications to the architecture to increase its baseline resistance. In Phase I, Accord will implement selected changes and show initial benefits compared to the basic design. Comparison is also made with the FPGA manufacturer"s standard soft-core processor. A target scenario, protection for loading an FPGA with CPI content, will be the example case study. The Phase II design will produce a revised soft-core (SCAR-CRIPTC) to execute AES without detectable physical leaks, which Accord will demonstrate, benchmark and evaluate the SCA protection level.