Ultimate design security in self-reconfiguring non-volatile environments

The technology of self-reconfiguring electronic units is increasingly deployed in many modern systems. As systems are designed by many parties and some parts of the technology could be classified, the need to secure VLSI cores in reconfigurable fabrics is a very serious demand in many applications. This paper demonstrates a novel use of reconfigurable technology to devise ultimate Intellectual Property (IP) protection of bitstream cores in non-volatile reconfigurable environments. The core protection mechanism is based on the use the secret cipher (SC) concept developed recently by the authors [1]. The SC concept is only feasible if non-volatile self-reconfiguring FPGA technology is used. Assuming that such technology would become widely available in the future, the proposed concept offers the ultimate security level with regards to non-invasive attacks. The paper presents a new secured IP exchange protocol using the SC concept initiated in a self-reconfiguring non-volatile FPGA technology. The paper presents a simple secured IP exchange scenario between IP owner and IP user by consulting a trusted authority which should certify the devices. The device manufacturer has no influence on the IP exchange process and is not required to participate in the security management. Many other exchange scenarios are possible.