Hardware Security Evaluation Using Assurance Case Models

The security of computing systems relies heavily on their hardware architecture. Currently, hardware is evaluated using mostly manual processes that are prone to errors, and generate a large, complex workload. In this paper, we are the first to report the use of the Assurance Case methodology to guide a hardware architecture security analysis. We were able to analyze real-world systems, and to detect known and some possibly unknown vulnerabilities. We also show that, by employing Assurance Cases, other benefits are gained, such as better security analysis coverage and better documentation of the security-relevant aspects of the system.