-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [IP] Fingerprinting CPUs [u] Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 12:30:12 -0500 From: David Farber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Ip <[email protected]>
------ Forwarded Message From: "Barrett, Randy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 10:28:05 -0500 To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Fingerprinting CPUs
From Washington Internet Daily 2/10/05
MIT Authenticates Individual Computers
MIT researchers are using natural variations in integrated circuits to authenticate individual computers. The technology could be used for security, but also for intellectual property protection, said lead investigator Srini Devadas, who's spent the last 2 years developing the technology under a grant from the National Science Foundation.
"There are different grades of Pentium chips," said Devadas. "Some turn out to be faster than others." These differences can be mapped to create a unique fingerprint for every computer. Devadas calls the new identifier the "physical unclonable function" (PUF). The approach has several advantages: It's extremely hard to forge, he said, and it doesn't require separate authentication technology such as a smart chip to function. "The chip itself is the key," he said.
With computer CPUs acting as authentication keys, sensitive information can be passed between trusted machines, said Devadas. Making it work requires a special program circuit be added to each CPU to make the challenge and response possible. Devadas has talked with several commercial suppliers about marketing the technology: "I need to convince the hardware manufacturers that this is something that will fly," he said.
The system also could be used for intellectual property protection, Devadas said. Copyrighted software could be programmed to run on only one CPU and effectively blocked from further distribution. Another possible application is the ability to remotely authenticate the execution of programming on specific chips. "I'm talking to a bunch of people about it," he said. -- Randy Barrett
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