Protect Your FPGA Against Piracy

July 10, 2008
A cost-effective authentication scheme provides protection of IP in SRAM-based FPGA designs.

Over the past two decades, the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) has transitioned from a prototyping tool to a flexible production solution in both consumer and industrial applications. With FPGA logic complexity increasing from a few thousand gates to millions of gates, the devices are able to hold more of the key functions (intellectual property) of a system.

Today, designers can select FPGAs that employ various technologies to hold the configuration data—one-time programmable antifuses, reprogrammable flash-based storage cells, and reprogrammable SRAM-based configurable logic cells. Both antifuse- and flash-based solutions provide relatively secure solutions, since the configuration data is stored on the FPGA chip and there are mechanisms that prevent the stored data from being read out. And, unless very sophisticated schemes such as depacking, microprobing, voltage contrast electron-beam microscopy, and focusedion- beam (FIB) probing are used to pry into the silicon and to disable security mechanisms,1 it’s very unlikely that the data will be compromised. (For a short backgrounder on FPGAs, see “Technology Options And Issues For FPGAs,” p. 52.)

Static-RAM-based (SRAM) FPGAs, however, have fewer safeguards to protect that IP (the configuration data) against illegal copying and theft. The reason is that once the data is loaded, it’s held in SRAM memory cells. Such cells can easily be probed to determine their contents. In addition, without some type of security mechanism to protect the configuration data before it’s loaded into the chip, that data is open to snooping. That’s because the bit stream is usually stored in a separate memory chip read by the FPGA upon power-up to load its configuration pattern. There are, though, some simple ways to secure that data to prevent someone from copying the configuration pattern (stealing the IP).

THE WEAK POINT OF SRAM-BASED FPGAS Due to the two-chip solution—FPGA and configuration memory—the configuration data bit stream is exposed to eavesdropping during the power-up phase. Since the FPGA can’t tell whether the bit stream is “genuine” or an illegally obtained copy, the intellectual property contained in the configuration data is totally unprotected. This wellknown issue has been partially addressed by means of security keys and bit-stream encryption. However, it’s only used for high-end FPGAs, which aren’t suited for consumer application due to their high cost.WITHOUT PROTECTION Particularly vulnerable to design piracy are applications that use SRAM-based FPGAs without bit-stream encryption. The configuration bit stream can be captured, reprogrammed into configuration PROMs, or simply replayed to make clones of the original design. Cloned products then compete with the original product, stealing the research and development investment as well as reducing the market share and profitability of the original manufacturer.

Even without encryption, antifuse- or flash-based FPGAs are more secure than SRAM-based FPGAs because the configuration data isn’t exposed to eavesdropping. But an assembly house, if set up to program the FPGAs, can program more units than authorized and sell them on its own without incurring any development costs. Such unauthorized devices are indistinguishable from the authorized devices and can significantly impact a company’s profitability.

One way to make the SRAM-based FPGAs a little more secure is to leverage multichip packaging and mount the nonvolatile memory inside a package along with the FPGA. Yet if someone opens the package, the data interface between the memory and the FPGA is exposed and the configuration pattern can be compromised.

The structure of the configuration bit stream (i.e., the sequence of data elements and how they’re coded and identified) is largely undocumented. The obscurity, complexity, and size of the bit stream make the reverse-engineering process difficult and time-consuming, though theoretically possible.1 If successful, even partial reverse engineering of the configuration stream makes it possible to hack a set-top box to steal services or tamper with power-train settings in a vehicle, causing liability problems for the original manufacturer.

THE CHALLENGE… To prevent system costs from exploding, designers must keep using SRAM-based FPGAs without encryption. However, they have to find a way to protect the intellectual property from piracy. Furthermore, the added cost for the security measures must be as low as possible and the impact on the production flow must be minimal.

It’s crucial that the security-related hardware fit into the available space on the circuit board, but not increase the overall power consumption. Also, the impact of security on the FPGA’s resources (number of pins and logic elements) must be as low as possible.

… AND THE RESPONSE: AUTHENTICATION The objective of the authentication process is to establish proof of identity between two or more entities. Key-based authentication takes a secret key and the to-be-authenticated data (“message”) as input to compute a message authentication code (MAC). The MAC is then attached to the message. The recipient of the message performs the same computation and compares its version of the MAC to the one received with the message. If both MACs match, the message is authentic.

A weakness with this basic model, though, is that an intercepted message can later be replayed by a non-authentic sender and be mistaken as authentic. The chance of a simple “replay attack” to succeed is resolved if the MAC computation incorporates a random challenge chosen by the MAC recipient. Figure 1 illustrates the general concept. The longer the challenge, the more difficult it is to record all possible responses for a potential replay.

To prove the authenticity of the MAC originator, the MAC recipient generates a random number and sends it as a challenge to the originator. The MAC originator must then compute a new MAC based on the secret key, the message, and the challenge and send the computed result back to the recipient. If the originator proves capable of generating a valid MAC for any challenge, it’s very certain that it knows the secret and therefore can be considered authentic. The technical term for this process is challenge-and-response authentication (Fig. 1).

Numerous algorithms are used to compute MACs, such as Gost-Hash, HAS-160, HAVAL, MDC-2, MD2, MD4, MD5, RIPEMD, SHA family, Tiger, and WHIRLPOOL. A thoroughly scrutinized and internationally certified one-way hash algorithm is SHA-1, which was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). SHA-1 has evolved into the international standard ISO/IEC 10118-3:2004.

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The math behind the SHA-1 algorithm is publicly available through the NIST Web site.2 Distinctive characteristics of the SHA-1 algorithm are:

• Irreversibility: It is computationally infeasible to determine the input corresponding to a MAC.
• Collision-resistance: It is impractical to find more than one input message that produces a given MAC.
• High avalanche effect: Any change in input produces a significant change in the MAC result.

For these reasons, as well as the international scrutiny of the algorithm, SHA-1 is an excellent choice for challengeand- response authentication of secure memories.

HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION A challenge-and-response authentication scheme can be implemented inexpensively as part of an SRAM-based FPGA system design (Fig. 2). In this example, the secure memory device uses only a single pin to connect to an FPGA pin configured for bidirectional (open-drain) communication. A resistive connection to VDD delivers power to the secure memory and provides the bias for open-drain communication. Maxim’s DS28E01 is a good fit in this scheme. It contains a SHA-1 engine, 128 bytes of user memory, a secret key that can be used for chip-internal operations (but can’t be read from outside), and a unique, unchangeable identification number.

The 1-Wire interface of the DS28E01 reduces the communications channel to just a single FPGA pin for the challengeand- response authentication. That keeps the impact of the security solution to a minimum, since FPGAs are often I/O-pinlimited. Alternate implementations can be constructed using a more generic I2C interface implemented on the FPGA and using the DS28NC01 (an I2C equivalent of the DS28E01) or by implementing the SHA-1 engine and other functions in a small ASIC or CPLD. However, using an ASIC approach would probably cost more if security is the device’s only function.

To leverage the security features of the DS28E01, the FPGA must be able to do the following:

• Generate random numbers (for the challenge). (On-chip random number generators usually create pseudo-random numbers, which are not as secure as real random numbers.)
• Know a secret key that can be used for internal operations, but can’t be discovered from outside.
• Compute a SHA-1 MAC that involves the secret key, a random number, and additional data, just like the secure memory.
• Compare data byte for byte, using the XOR function of the CPU implemented in the FPGA.

For detailed information on the SHA-1 MAC computation, take a look at the Secure Hash Standard.2

Microcontroller-like functionality is typically available as a free macro from major FPGA vendors. The Xilinx microcontroller function occupies 192 logic cells, which represents just 11% of a Spartan-3 XC3S50 device. A similar microcontroller for Altera devices occupies 850 logic elements, which is equivalent to 18.5% of the EP2C5, the smallest member of the Cyclone II family.

HOW IT WORKS When power is applied, the FPGA configures itself from its configuration memory. Now the FPGA’s microcontroller function comes alive and performs the challenge-and-response authentication, also known as identification friend or foe (IFF). This involves the following steps:

• Generate a random number; send it as a challenge (Q) to the secure memory.
• Instruct the secure memory to compute a SHA-1 MAC based on its secret key, the challenge, its unique identification number, and other fixed data.
• Compute a SHA-1 MAC, i.e., the expected response (MAC1), based on the same input and constants used by the secure memory and the FPGA’s secret key.
• Take the SHA-1 MAC computed by the secure memory (Read Authentication MAC) as response (MAC2) and compare it to the expected response (MAC1).

If MAC1 and MAC2 match, the FPGA identifies its environment as a “friend,” because it apparently knows the secret key. The FPGA transitions to normal operation, enabling/performing all of the functions defined in its configuration code. If the MACs are different, however, the environment must be a “foe.” In this case, the FPGA takes application-specific actions other than normal operation.

WHY THE PROCESS IS SECURE Besides the inherent security provided by SHA-1, the principal security element for the above type of IFF authentication is the secret key, which isn’t readable from the secure memory or the FPGA. Furthermore, because the data in the bit stream is scrambled, eavesdropping on the configuration bit stream when the FPGA configures itself won’t reveal the secret key. Due to its size, reverse-engineering the bit stream to determine the design with the intent of removing the authentication step is very time-consuming and, thus, a prohibitively difficult task.

Another critical security component is the randomness of the challenge. A predictable challenge (i.e., a constant) causes a predictable response, which can be recorded once and then replayed later by a microcontroller emulating the secure memory. With a predictable challenge, the microcontroller can effectively deceive the FPGA to consider the environment as a friend. The randomness of the challenge in this IFF approach alleviates this concern.

Security can be improved further if the secret key in each secure memory is device-specific, i.e., an individual secret key computed from a master secret, the 1-Wire SHA-1 memory’s unique identification number, and application-specific constants. Should an individual key become public, only a single device is affected and not the security of the entire system. To support individual secret keys, the FPGA needs to know the master secret and compute the 1-Wire SHA-1 memory chip’s secret key first before computing the expected response.

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LOGISTICAL ASPECTS For every unit to be built, the owner of the design (OEM) must provide one properly preprogrammed secure memory to the contract manufacturer (CM) that makes the product with the embedded FPGA. This one-to-one relationship limits the number of authorized units that the CM can build. To prevent the CM from tampering with the secure memory (e.g., claiming that additional memories are needed because some were not programmed properly), it’s advisable to write-protect the secret key.

There’s no need to worry about the security of the 1-Wire EEPROM data memory, even if it’s not write-protected. By design, this memory data can only be changed by individuals who know the secret key. As a welcome side effect, this characteristic enables the application designer to implement soft-feature management— the FPGA can enable/disable functions depending on data that it reads from the SHA-1 secured memory.

It’s not always practical for the OEM to preprogram memory devices before delivery to the CM. To address this situation, the manufacturer of the secure memory could set up a SHA-1 secret and EEPROM-array preprogramming service for the OEM. Maxim provides such a service, where secure memory devices are registered and configured at the factory according to OEM input and then shipped directly to the CM. Key benefits of such a service include:

• Eliminating the need for the OEM to disclose the secret key to the CM.
• Eliminating the need for the OEM to implement its own preprogramming system.
• Only OEM-authorized third parties have access to registered devices.
• The vendor maintains records of shipped quantities if needed for OEM auditing purposes.

PROOF OF CONCEPT The FPGA security method featured in this article has been tested with products from Altera and Xilinx. In its whitepaper “An FPGA Design Security Solution Using a Secure Memory Device,” Altera concludes, “This FPGA design security IFF solution protects Altera FPGA designs from being cloned even if the configuration data bit stream is captured. The user design remains disabled until the hash algorithm computation in both the FPGA and the secure memory match. This design security solution protects FPGA designer’s IP.”3

Similarly, Xilinx states in its application note XAPP780: “The system’s security is fundamentally based on the secrecy of the secret key and loading of the key in a secure environment. This entire reference design, except the secret key, is public abiding by the widely accepted Kerckhoffs’ law. The simple interface to programming and authentication provided in this application note make this copy protection scheme very easy to implement.”4 (In his groundbreaking article on military cryptography, the Flemish linguist Auguste Kerckhoffs argued that instead of relying on obscurity, security should depend on the strength of keys, because in the event of a breach, only the keys would need to be replaced instead of the whole system.)

CONCLUSION Protection against piracy of intellectual property requires adding just one lowcost chip (DS28E01 < $1.00 at 10k units) and updates to the FPGA configuration code. Thanks to the 1-Wire interface, only a single FPGA pin is taken for security purposes. (If more pins are available on the FPGA, the I2C version of the secure memory can be used in lieu of the 1-Wire version. This would also necessitate some changes to the FPGA configuration pattern as well as the control software for the embedded microcontroller.)

The secure memories are able to be ordered preprogrammed with either a fixed or computed secret key and application- specific data. Preprogrammed parts then get shipped only to the OEM, or possibly to authorized contract manufacturers, and they can only build as many units as preprogrammed parts are available.

References: 1. Drimer, Saar, “Volatile FPGA design security – a survey,” work in progress, http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~sd410/papers/fpga_security.pdf
2. Secure Hash Standard, http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/fip180-1.htm
3. Altera White Paper 01033: “An FPGA Design Security Solution Using a Secure Memory Device,” http://www.altera.com/literature/wp/wp-01033.pdf
4. Xilinx Application Note XAPP780: “FPGA IFF Copy Protection Using Dallas Semiconductor/ Maxim DS2432 Secure EEPROMs,” http://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/application_notes/xapp780.pdf

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