The Intel – TU Darmstadt Security Institute will be jointly operated by Intel Labs and TU Darmstadt / Center for Advanced Security Research Darmstadt (CASED), Germany.
The Institute will start its official operation in January 2012. In particular, it will conduct security research for mobile and embedded systems. In addition, it will support industry and scientific research to improve the reliability of mobile and embedded devices as well as the ecosystem around them. The long term goal is to gain insight into the infrastructure required to introduce new technologies.
Motivation
Cyber Physical Systems constitute various mobile and embedded devices like smartphones, RFIDs, and sensors that combine computational and physical aspects. They have become an integral part of our daily life. Computing platforms such as smartphones (and even sensors) undergo rapid and continuous development becoming progressively more sophisticated with regard to their computational, storage, and interface capabilities. However, the growing popularity and deployment of these systems together with the fact that they increasingly store and process security-critical and privacy-sensitive data makes them an attractive target for both software (e.g., viruses, Trojans) and hardware (e.g., side channel) attacks. As the diversity and power of connected computing devices grows, a single device (e.g., the smartphone) has the capability to manage various aspects of an individual’s life (personal and professional communication, financial transactions, media consumption, gaming etc.). The potential to span such a broad spectrum with a single powerful device poses significant risks due to the different threat profiles associated with various usages. It is critical to address the security capabilities of these smart devices so they can maintain the appropriate security posture at all times.
The majority of work today is focused on secure architectures for these new classes of devices and their components. This is important, but, with large numbers of devices engaged in complementary or joint activities in diverse security contexts, building a new generation of architectures is not enough. Each usage requires a deep understanding of the platform technologies necessary to provide the highest possible level of security. And seamless use of diverse devices for the same tasks will require a different level of interoperability and support in the ecosystem.
Our Focus
The Intel – TU Darmstadt Security Institute will focus on “elevating the security assurance” of System on a Chip (SoC) platforms. Specifically, we place a strong emphasis on embedded and smart device (such as smartphones) segments of the SoC platform domain. We will explore several emerging usages (at sufficient depth) in order to understand the end-to-end frameworks for SoC security. The goal will be to map out threat profiles and generate security requirements that inform future SoC platform design. For each usage, we will analyze the corresponding threats and predominant vulnerabilities. Based on this analysis, we will propose new approaches to security, from architecture and cryptographic support to infrastructure features and policy frameworks. Our research areas reflect progression from analysis to the development of new technology approaches.
