RII Track-4: Photovoltaic Based Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs) for Vehicular Security

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

Non-technical Description Today's vehicles have approximately 100 million lines of computer code and 60 electronic control units (ECUs), as well as a wide range of computer-enabled technologies such as power and infotainment systems, remote locking and unlocking, remote engine start, etc. With plans underway to include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications technology in new vehicles, it is expected that there could be as many as 220 million connected cars globally by 2020. However, these embedded devices in vehicles are susceptible to malicious cyber-attacks, such as modifying the in-vehicle system infrastructure, stealing intellectual property (IP), and misusing the vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Fundamental advancements are needed at the hardware and software levels to create a more reliable vehicle security infrastructure. This research investigates the potential use of Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs) as a hardware security approach to simplify or solve many important vehicular security problems, such as ECU piracy, ECU counterfeiting, secure authentication, and key management. Collaborators at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have the needed expertise in PUFs, and the project will provide the PI with needed training and mentorship in this area. The proposed research could pave the way for the widespread use of photovoltaic-based PUFs to mitigate vehicle cybersecurity vulnerabilities and the impacts of potential attacks, thereby, increasing the public safety of American families and securing driver's personal data. In addition, the project will lead to a stronger research and education program in vehicular security at the University of Kentucky and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Technical Description The project will provide the foundation for a long-term research program to design hardware security primitives based on intrinsic properties of existing vehicular hardware such as built-in sensors or devices. Building PUFs from existing vehicular hardware has the potential to mitigate cyber-threats in vehicles with minimal redesign costs and performance penalties. Photovoltaic (PV) devices have wide applications in vehicles such as ambient climate control, automatic headlights, to generate electricity in hybrid and electric vehicles, etc. Therefore, the PI plans to investigate new designs and prototypes of PV PUFs for vehicular security. The proposed research will provide a better understanding of the relationship between light intensity and output current in PV devices for the generation of PV PUFs. Novel methodologies and circuit architectures of PV-based PUFs will be designed, and the reliability of the proposed PUFs with respect to temperature variations and aging effects will be tested and evaluated under extreme meteorological test conditions. Simulation and prototyping of PV-based PUF circuits will test the PI's hypothesis that existing devices and sensors in vehicles can be used to mitigate the security threats. Intellectual products will be developed, such as novel circuit designs and architectures of PV-based PUFs, design flow of PV-based PUF generation, and specific PUF designs and prototypes.