ERC – ADG -2015 Cathedral: Post-Snowden Circuits and Design Methods for Security

1. ERC – ADG -2015 Cathedral: Post-Snowden Circuits and Design Methods for Security Ingrid Verbauwhede Ingrid.verbauwhede@esat.kuleuven.be KU Leuven, COSIC & I-Minds

2. My project: press release by ERC“Cybersecurity: tending to the root of trust” https://erc.europa.eu/press_release/erc-advanced-grant-2015-project-examples Digital technologies and the Internet are the backbone of our society and economy. The number of connected devices may reach 100 billion in the next decade, but already today electronics accompany us everywhere and all the time. They carry data to make our lives easier. Yet they also make us more vulnerable to attacks that compromise our privacy, health or security. Securing this Internet-of-Everything is a crucial challenge of our times.

3. Press release (cont): Professor Ingrid Verbauwhede, from KU Leuven, aims to tackle it on the level of digital hardware, "the root of trust." Her team will be reviewing each layer of digital hardware design from a security perspective. She will investigate the links between these layers, digital design flows and objectives, cryptographic algorithms and protocols, hardware and software platforms. The team will carry out security evaluations and test resistance to hacking, feeding back to the individual hardware design steps. Professor Verbauwhede compares her work to the construction of a cathedral: "Solid foundations are needed for creating the perfect edifice."

4. What can we learn from this? Convince the reviewers of important challenge: • Addresses “crucial challenge of our times” Convince the reviewers of ‘objective’ (= focus/research topic) : • Addresses “root of trust”, i.e. digital hardware Convince the reviewers of research program: • Set of tasks and work packages • One coherent story: Cathedral

5. First attempt at coherent story (WP0/WP7): Application requirements WP7: Embedded Trusted HW/SW platform WP8: Application design Design abstraction layers WP3: HW IP blocks to support cryptography WP9: Design methods for security WP6 Cross level: HW IP with novel circuits and devices WP2: Circuits: low power & side-channel attack resistant WP10: Security evaluation and feedback WP5 Cross level: Process variation tolerant secure circuits WP1: Technology: HW entangled security Time Holistic combination into design, design methods and security evaluation Enabling technology at different abstraction levels Cross level combination of novel technologies

6. Cathedral: second attempt (in proposal) Secure Trusted Design Time Holistic integration into design, design methods and security evaluation WP7: Application design WP9: Security evaluation and feedback WP8: Design methods for security Cross level combination of novel technologies WP4 Cross level: Process variation tolerant secure circuits WP5 Cross level: HW IP with novel circuits and devices WP6 Embedded Trusted HW/SW platform Enabling technology at different abstraction levels WP1: Technology: HW entangled security WP2: Circuits: low power & side-channel attack resistant WP3: HW IP blocks to support cryptography Foundations Cathedral of Antwerp, source wallonie-voyage.eu/images/antv_box/ant1.jpg

7. ERC project proposal Part B1: • Focus on challenge and objectives, • Write for your colleagues in your department, • Check background of reviewers in your panel • PE7: photonics, electromagnetics, human computer interface, robotics, control theory, communications, circuits, nano-technology, sensors Part B2: • Heavier focus on research methodology, research plan • Write for your colleagues in your research domain, i.e. the experts

8. ERC Candidate • Have a track record and be an expert in your domain • Track record is: • Publication and patent track record • Limit to most important ones • Mentions unusual things • Proposal can be futuristic but start from your expertise • Start VERY early, have the proposal rest for a while and write again. If you don’t try, you don’t get…