CAREER: Securing Deeply Embedded Software

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

Deeply Embedded Software (DES) is used to control a large and diverse set of software-intensive systems such as those used in homes, and for transportation, food, and energy systems. The proposed work addresses security vulnerabilities in DES systems, which have unique challenges due to the use of low-powered embedded devices and corresponding software. This project holistically addresses the problem by developing techniques to effectively secure existing DES systems while enabling easy development of new DES systems. The software security techniques and tools developed as part of the project may apply to billions of embedded devices. The knowledge created by this project will contribute to pedagogical materials to create awareness and increase graduate and undergraduate student community participation and K-12 outreach. This project seeks to transform the landscape of Deeply Embedded Software (DES) security and development by introducing a comprehensive set of modular techniques. The project develops novel solutions to tackle inherent challenges in DES, including diverse hardware and software environments, resource limitations, and legacy code. The project creates a method for hosting DES on Linux platforms and an approach for dynamic analysis of these rehosted applications through under-constrained random testing. Additionally, the project aims to create cost-effective memory safety improvements using pointer annotations, supported by necessary tools to automate annotation. The project also promotes the integration of the RUST programming language in DES development, facilitated by interactive type-matching techniques for seamless interaction with legacy systems and techniques for optimized utilization of existing RUST libraries or crates. The project will provide valuable training for graduate students, enable novel pedagogical approaches and material suitable for embedded systems and programming-related courses, and provide new computational thinking assessments and tutorials to broaden the participation of K-12 and undergraduate students in the broader community. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.