Convergence of IoT, Cloud, Security: A Perfect Storm

Growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cloud Computing has magnified the impact of the security challenge by orders of magnitude. Join Wally Rhines, CEO of Mentor Graphics, as he examines the growing threats to silicon security and possible solutions.

As electronic system hackers penetrate deeper—from applications to embedded software to operating system to silicon—the impact of security threats is growing exponentially. Viruses and malware in the operating system, or application layer, are major concerns, but effect only a portion of users. In contrast, even small malicious modifications or compromised performance in the underlying silicon can devastate system security for all users.

Since hardware is the root of trust in an electronic product, integrated circuit designers will be increasingly pressured to solve the silicon security problems for their customers. This requires a new paradigm in silicon design creation and verification. The traditional approach is to design and then verify that the silicon does what it is supposed to do. Creating secure silicon, however, requires that verification ensure that the chip does nothing that it is NOT supposed to do.