Grant: Department of National Defence / NSERC Research Partnership

As the era of Internet of anything evolves, there is a growing need for strong security solutions which can thwart attacks on the widespread embedded hardware. Unlike software, attacks on hardware are not easily or readily patched and may have a more significant impact. Examples of threatened embedded hardware include ATMs, smartcards, automobiles, cell phones, mobile health and financial devices. This research will advance the field of secure embedded hardware by creating a testbed for chip level hardware hacking and countermeasure design. In advancing our understanding of hardware attacks, we are in a better position to design countermeasures to strengthen our hardware so future attacks can be thwarted. This research will help to train engineers in the field of embedded security, a growing and important part of Canada's economy. This field of study is vital to Canada to protect our economy and country with application to many markets including wireless financial/military/automobile/health industries where secure trusted hardware is crucial.