Secure IC with Soft Security Countermeasures
AssigneeNuvoton Technology Corporation
InventorsZiv Hershman, Dan Morav
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An Integrated Circuit (IC) includes functional circuitry and protection circuitry. The protection circuitry is configured to maintain a counter value, which is indicative of a cumulative amount of hostile attacking attempted on the functional circuitry over a lifetime of the IC, to detect events indicative of suspected hostile attacks on the functional circuitry, to decide, responsively to a detected event, on an update of the counter value depending on a time difference between the detected event and a most recent power-up in the IC, and update the counter value in accordance with the decided update, and to disable at least part of the IC in response to the counter value crossing a threshold.
Claims18
An Integrated Circuit (IC), comprising:
- functional circuitry;
- and
- protection circuitry, which is configured to:
- maintain a counter value, which is indicative of a cumulative amount of hostile attacking attempted on the functional circuitry over a lifetime of the IC;
- detect events indicative of suspected hostile attacks on the functional circuitry;
- responsively to a detected event, decide on an update of the counter value depending on a time difference between the detected event and a most recent power-up in the IC, and update the counter value in accordance with the decided update;
- and
- disable at least part of the IC in response to the counter value crossing a threshold.
A method for protecting an Integrated Circuit (IC), the method comprising:
- maintaining in the IC a counter value, which is indicative of a cumulative amount of hostile attacking attempted on functional circuitry in the IC over a lifetime of the IC;
- detecting events indicative of suspected hostile attacks on the functional circuitry;
- responsively to a detected event, deciding on an update of the counter value depending on a time difference between the detected event and a most recent power-up in the IC, and updating the counter value in accordance with the decided update;
- and
- disabling at least part of the IC in response to the counter value crossing a threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.