Cyber Security – Not Just For Data Protection

Cyber security is usually thought of as protecting data, but hackers are increasingly targeting physical devices. and there is a new  technology under development will make digital chips more resilient to security attacks. As devices are increasingly becoming inter-connected via the Internet of Things, designers are intensifying efforts to protect the hardware from outside threats.

Researchers at the the University of Arkansas are focused on protecting integrated circuit (IC) chips, which are critical components in modern electronics. The chips can be found in a wide variety of devices, including computers, vehicles and even refrigerators. 

The Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering run by Prof. Jia Di, has received  a $600,000 grant from the US  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to pursue the technology. 

The project focuses on protecting integrated circuit (IC) chips, which are critical components in modern electronics. 

According to DARPA, “as Internet-of-Things devices rapidly increase in popularity and deployment, economic attackers and nation-states alike are shifting their attention to the vulnerabilities of digital integrated circuit chips. Threats to IC chips are well known, and despite various measures designed to mitigate them, hardware developers have largely been slow to implement security solutions due to limited expertise, high cost and complexity, and lack of security-oriented design tools integrated with supporting semiconductor intellectual property.”

The funding is a sub-award from Northrop Grumman, which was awarded the project from DARPA, according to uark.edu. 
The project includes collaborators from Northrop Grumman, the University of Arkansas, IBM and the University of Florida.

The next generation of cyber security professionals will be trained at the University of Arkansas with a $4.63 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

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