A Novel Probability-Based Logic-Locking Technique: ProbLock

Area of Science:

• Computer Engineering
• Cybersecurity
• Hardware Security

Background:

• Integrated circuit (IC) piracy and overproduction pose significant threats to system security and integrity.
• Logic locking is a hardware obfuscation method that inserts key gates to protect circuit functionality.
• Existing methods face challenges in effectively deterring sophisticated attacks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a robust probability-based logic locking technique to mitigate IC piracy and overproduction.
• To enhance the security and integrity of integrated circuits against design threats.
• To introduce a novel technique, ProbLock, applicable to both combinational and sequential circuits.

Main Methods:

• Developed a probability-based logic locking technique named ProbLock.
• Employed a critical selection process for applying the technique to circuits.
• Utilized a filtering process to identify optimal key gate locations based on constraints.
• Analyzed constraint correlations and adjusted their strength before key gate insertion.

Main Results:

• Tested ProbLock on 40 benchmarks from ISCAS '85 and ISCAS '89 suites.
• Evaluated ProbLock's resilience against SAT attacks.
• Observed a significant increase in the time required for SAT attacks to generate a key value on most benchmarks.

Conclusions:

• ProbLock demonstrates viable security for hardware obfuscation.
• The probability-based approach effectively hinders common attack vectors.
• ProbLock offers a promising solution for protecting IC designs from piracy and unauthorized duplication.