Design of high performance cryptography module (HSM)

Abstract

The project will undertake the development and prototyping of the Mercury module, a Hardware Security Module (HSM) from Kryptus Tecnologias. Mercury will be able to provide advanced cryptography services with a high performance and reduced cost piece of hardware for applications such as electronic authentication and certification of data. The research project involves three main elements: 1) the prototyping of the circuits; 2) the prototyping of protection against physical attacks; and 3) the evaluation of a real random number generator. The prototypes of the circuits, which are at an advanced stage of design, will be implemented under the form of a cryptographic accelerator for PCI scans, using reconfigurable high performance hardware (FPGAs with 130 to 90 nanometers technology) which, together with the on-board processors, will implement the necessary cryptographic mechanisms. These mechanisms, once implemented in VHDL, will be adapted to function on the platform and evaluated regarding their cost-performance relation. The prototyping of mechanical protection from physical attacks will involve the creation of elements which, at the same time, display the evidence and protect against attempts to alter the device. Random number generators with real entropy sources will be built and evaluated. The statistical analysis of results will be carried out under trial attacks. (AU)