Trojan insertion tool

A system for evaluating a software tool that detects malicious hardware modifications, comprising:

• a computing device;
• an application executable in the computing device, wherein, when executed, the application causes the computing device to at least:
• receive hardware description language code that represents a circuit design;
• calculate a signal probability for a plurality of nodes in the circuit design;
• identify a plurality of rare nodes in the circuit design based at least in part on a signal probability threshold and the signal probability for the plurality of nodes;
• generate a test sample population that comprises a plurality of test instances based at least in part on the plurality of rare nodes;
• generate a feasible test population that comprises a subset of the plurality of test instances by verifying a trigger condition with a payload outcome or a payload outcome alone associated with the plurality of test instances, wherein the verification of the trigger condition with the payload outcome or the payload outcome alone associated with the plurality of test instances identifies an invalid subset of the plurality test instances which have an invalid trigger condition or an invalid payload outcome, and the feasible test population is generated by removing the invalid subset of the plurality of test instances from the test sample population;
• generate a malicious hardware test instance based at least in part on a random selection from the feasible test population;
• and
• generate modified hardware description code by inserting the malicious hardware test instance into the hardware description language code, wherein the modified hardware description code is configured to evaluate a software tool that detects malicious hardware modifications.

A method for evaluating a software tool that detects malicious hardware modifications, comprising:

• receiving, via a computing device, hardware description language code that represents a circuit design;
• calculating, via the computing device, a signal probability for a plurality of nodes based at least in part on the circuit design;
• identifying, via the computing device, a plurality of rare nodes in the circuit design based at least in part on a signal probability threshold and the signal probability for the plurality of nodes;
• generating, via the computing device, a Trojan sample population that comprises a plurality of Trojan test instances based at least in part on the plurality of rare nodes;
• generating, via the computing device, a feasible Trojan population that comprises a subset of the plurality of Trojan test instances by verifying a trigger condition with a payload outcome or a payload outcome alone associated with the plurality of Trojan test instances, wherein the verification of the trigger condition with the payload outcome or the payload outcome alone associated with the plurality of test instances identifies an invalid subset of the plurality test instances which have an invalid trigger condition or an invalid payload outcome, and the feasible Trojan population is generated by removing the invalid subset of the plurality of Trojan test instances from the Trojan sample population;
• generating, via the computing device, a Trojan test instance based at least in part on a random selection from the feasible Trojan population;
• and
• generating, via the computing device, modified hardware description code by inserting the Trojan test instance into the hardware description language code, wherein the modified hardware description code is configured to evaluate a software tool that detects malicious hardware modifications.