Generic identification protocols by deploying Secret Unknown Ciphers (SUCs)

Abstract

Secret Unknown Ciphers (SUCs) were first introduced in [1]. Such ciphers are self-created, basically unknown ciphers within a permanent digital self-reconfiguring unit. Such self-reconfiguring non-volatile structures are expected to be available in the near future. The authors approached quite promising concepts for realizing such ciphers in Microsemi non-volatile self-reconfiguring FPGA units. This work presents two generic protocols for physically identifying units incorporating such SUCs as clone-resistant System-on-Chip (SoC) entities in open networks. A broad spectrum of applications in consumer and vehicular units is expected when deploying such ciphers resulting with low-cost, clone resistant or even possibly unclonable units. The technique allows manufacturer-independent personalization of SoC units having non-volatile technology such that it is possible to achieve commercially-efficient and “pragmatic” clone-resistant units by SUCs to protect intellectual property rights and counteract cloning-attacks. The SoC units are “mutated” irreversibly into unique physical entities, such that cloning them becomes commercially useless as break-one break-all in such technology does not work. Each unit requires to be attacked individually, thus frustrating attackers as paying for a legal device becomes always cheaper than cloning it.