A PUF and software collaborative key protection scheme

Abstract

PUF-based key generation provides an alternative to address key storage problems. However, PUFs seem helpless in preventing the generated key from being stolen by malicious code and PUF itself is under threat of probing by adversaries. In this paper, we propose a cost-effective key protection scheme which protects against software leakage of the generated key through all stages of chip’s development. In the proposed scheme, PUF primitives and device’s firmware are bound together to generate the private key, therefore, the successful recovery of the key proves not only the legality of the hardware device but also the integrity of the bound firmware, which secures the operating environment of the generated key. Besides, a hash module in our scheme controls the PUF’s input and output which restricts the access to PUF instance thereby further boosts the system’s security.