Detecting radiation-based attacks
View Patent ↗In a device having a plurality of circuits that can store at least a first value and a second value, a method can include configuring at least one circuit to persistently store the first value; determining whether the at least one circuit is storing the second value; and initiating a countermeasure if the at least one circuit is storing the second value. Determining whether the at least one circuit is storing the second value can include detecting whether the device has been attacked. Non-limiting examples of initiating a countermeasure can include resetting a portion of the device, powering down a portion of the device, activating an alarm circuit, causing protected data stored in the device to be erased, causing portions of the device to self-destruct, or causing the device to not respond to input applied to the interface.
1. A device comprising:
a plurality of standard logic cells;
a first plurality of circuits that implements a function and that comprises a portion of the plurality of standard logic cells;
a second plurality of circuits that comprises portions of the plurality of standard logic cells that are not included in the first plurality of circuits that implements the function, wherein each circuit in the second plurality of circuits is adapted to store either a first value or a second value and is configured to persistently store the first value;
a detection circuit that determines whether a plurality of the circuits in the second plurality of circuits is concurrently storing the second value including a tuning circuit comprising a counter that counts how many of the second plurality of circuits are storing the second value and a tunable threshold register that indicates a threshold number of the second circuits that can store the second value concurrently without triggering a countermeasure; and
a countermeasure circuit that initiates a first protective measure when the detection circuit determines that a first number of the second plurality of circuits is storing the second value where the first number is greater than the threshold number, and a second protective measure, which is different than the first protective measure, when the detection circuit determines that a second different number of circuits in the second plurality of circuits is also coincidentally storing the second value where both the first and the second protective measures include one or more measures to protect the first plurality of circuits.
2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is a semiconductor device, and the circuits in the second plurality of circuits are distributed across a portion of a surface of the semiconductor device.
3. The device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first protective measure or the second protective measure comprises resetting the device or powering off the device.
4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the portions of standard logic cells in the second plurality of circuits are adapted to have substantially identical sensitivity to radiation as corresponding portions of the standard logic cells in the first plurality of circuits.
5. The device of claim 4 , wherein sensitivity to radiation comprises sensitivity to a laser-based attack.
6. The device of claim 4 , wherein sensitivity to radiation comprises sensitivity to x-rays or gamma rays.
7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the portions of the standard logic cells in the second plurality of circuits are adapted to have substantially identical sensitivity to voltage glitches as corresponding portions of the standard logic cells in the first plurality of circuits.
8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the countermeasure circuit is configured to progressively initiate different protective measures, including a) initiating the first protective measure when the detection circuit determines that a threshold number of one or more of the second plurality of circuits is storing the second value, and b) initiating the second protective measure when the detection circuit determines that a number greater than the threshold number of the second plurality of circuits is storing the second value.
9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the countermeasure circuit is configured to a) initiate the first protective measure when the detection circuit determines that a circuit in the second plurality of circuits at a first location of the device is storing the second value, and b) initiate the second protective measure when the detection circuit determines that a circuit in the second plurality of circuits at a second location of the device that is different than the first location is storing the second value.
10. A circuit comprising:
a plurality of flip-flops, each flip-flop having a clock input, a data input, and an output and being adapted to propagate a logic value from the data input to the output on an edge of a signal coupled to the clock input, each data input and clock input being coupled to a signal that represents a first logic state; and
an evaluation circuit whose inputs couple to outputs of each flip-flop in the plurality of flip-flops and whose one or more outputs are coupled to a countermeasure circuit, the evaluation circuit having an initial output at a first state when a respective input of the evaluation circuit receives a respective signal representing the first logic state from each respective one of the plurality of flip-flops, and producing an output at a second state when a plurality of inputs of the evaluation circuit receive a signal that is not representative of the first logic state;
a tuning circuit comprising a counter that counts how many of the flip-flops are concurrently storing a logic level at the second state and a tunable threshold register that indicates a threshold number of the flip-flops that can concurrently store the logic level at the second state without triggering a countermeasure, where the threshold number is equal to or greater than two;
the countermeasure circuit configured to a) initiate a first protective action upon receiving a first input from the tuning circuit and b) initiate a second protective action that is different than the first protective action upon receiving a second input from the tuning circuit where both the first and the second protective action include one or more measures to protect the first plurality of circuits.
11. The circuit of claim 10 , wherein initiating the first protective action comprises asserting a reset signal to at least a portion of a device that includes the circuit.
12. The circuit of claim 10 , wherein initiating the second protective action comprises asserting a power-down signal to at least a portion of a device that includes the circuit.
13. The circuit of claim 10 , wherein each flip-flop has an asynchronous clear signal that is configured to clear the flip-flop upon a reset event.