"SUTD Researchers Developed Phase-Change Key for New Hardware Security"

As data is increasingly shared and stored digitally, data breaches grow. Scientists are exploring the development of novel methods for securing and protecting data from cyberattacks. Researchers at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) used phase-change materials to create a new type of reconfigurable, scalable, low-power hardware security device with high resilience to Artificial Intelligence (AI) attacks. According to Assistant Professor Desmond Loke from SUTD, the novel hardware security device they developed could eventually be used to protect data across sectors and industries. The device, which is a Physical Unclonable Function (PUF), is a new type of phase-change PUF that is more scalable, energy-efficient, and secure against AI attacks than traditional silicon PUFs. This is due to phase-change materials' electrical and physical properties, as well as the fabrication process. The SUTD research team created a set of phase-change devices that can switch reversibly between the glassy amorphous and crystal orderly states. Then they used the variation in the device's electrical conductance to make the PUF because of the inherent randomness that emerges from the manufacturing process. The researchers modeled the actual phase-change devices' characteristics to generate a simulation of more phase-change-based PUFs. To check the PUF's security, Loke and his team used Machine Learning (ML), a technique that enables AI to examine a system and discover fresh patterns. The researchers trained the AI using the phase-change PUF to see if it could use this training to predict the encrypted key and identify system vulnerabilities. The resistance to ML attacks makes the PUF more secure because potential hackers could not use the stolen key to reverse engineer a device for later use. If the key is compromised, the phase-change PUF can also immediately generate a new key through the reconfiguration mode. This article continues to discuss the phase-change key developed by SUTD researchers for hardware security.

SCIENMAG reports "SUTD Researchers Developed Phase-Change Key for New Hardware Security"