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OwnedPrototype2017 to 2020

Finding hardware Trojans in chips with ML

Amida Technology Solutions, a DC open-source data interoperability and security startup backed by In-Q-Tel, Blue Delta Capital, Red Hat and DoD

Results

Prototype delivered
Phase I
Prototype delivered
Trojan and trigger types modeled
10
Trojan and trigger types modeled
Patent applications (2018 to 2020), Amida hardware team
3
Patent applications (2018 to 2020), Amida hardware team
HST 2018 paper on Trojan detection through emulation
IEEE
HST 2018 paper on Trojan detection through emulation

The Phase I prototype worked, and a Phase II prototype was in development by mid-2020. The Amida hardware team filed 3 patent applications and published at IEEE HST 2018.

The problem

Chips built through outside supply chains can carry hidden circuits or counterfeits that standard testing misses. For naval systems, medical devices, autonomous vehicles and industrial controls, one compromised chip puts the whole system at risk.

Golden and infected chips compared by an ML modelTwo FPGA boards side by side, a clean golden model and an infected copy. Instrument probes feed an ML model that reports detection, location, impact and a Trojan signature.GOLDEN MODELINFECTEDPROBESMLREPORTDETECTLOCATEIMPACTSIGNATURELEAKER · MODIFIER · RELIABILITY

The build

Phase I emulated a clean "golden model" of a system on an FPGA, inserted ten digital, analog and environmental Trojans and triggers, and collected behavior data through custom on-chip instruments. The proof of concept covered data leakers, behavior modifiers and reliability attacks, plus side-channel Trojans on temperature, voltage, IR and analog waveform. ML models trained on clean and compromised data detect, locate and size the attack and return a Trojan or counterfeit signature. Phase II, the Trojan Emulation and Exploration Environment (TE3), adds scale, automation, remediation and a library of models that predict anomalies.

Key calls

  1. Framed the product around supply-chain risk.

    Trojans can enter anywhere from design to packaging, and COTS parts in defense systems carry that risk. The pitch led with where Trojans come from.

  2. Owned the line from requirements to demos.

    Requirements, proposals, hardware assurance collateral and product demos to partners and clients.