Tamper-Resistant Security for Cyber-Physical Systems with eTRON Architecture

Abstract

This article posits tamper-resistance as a necessary security measure for cyber-physical systems (CPS). With omnipresent connectivity and pervasive use of mobile devices, software security alone is arguably not sufficient to safeguard sensitive digital information we use everyday. As a result, utilization of a variety of tamper-resistant devices - including smartcards, secure digital cards with integrated circuits, and mobile phones with subscriber identity module - has become standard industry practice. Recognizing the need for effective hardware security alongside software security, in this paper, we present the eTRON architecture - at the core of which lies the tamper-resistant eTRON chip, equipped with functions for mutual authentication, encrypted communication and access control. Besides the security features, the eTRON architecture also offers a wide range of functionalities through a coherent set of application programming interfaces (API) leveraging tamper-resistance. In this paper, we discuss various features of the eTRON architecture, and present two representative eTRON-based applications with a view to evaluating its effectiveness by comparing with other existing applications.