Functional integrated circuit analysis

This work introduces a novel, automated methodology for performing functional analysis of integrated circuits (ICs), such as microcontrollers and smart cards. By selectively executing code on a given chip, the resulting optical emission images yield critical information about the chip´s functional layout. Automation of the code-generation allows us to generate and process hundreds of test cases that access specific elements of the IC. Subsequently, by correlating the executed code with the images, we are able to locate and identify functional elements of the chip´s design, such as memory layout and important registers. This methodology provides an efficient way to isolate potential points of interest and thus significantly reduces the amount of effort required to mount attacks. We present exemplary results for a common microcontroller.