Evolved circuits for bitstream protection
First Claim
1. A configuration bitstream for a particular reprogrammable integrated circuit (IC), the configuration bitstream comprising:
- an evolved circuit bitstream for configuring an evolved circuit in the reprogrammable IC, the evolved circuit bitstream being defined by an iterative configuration process based on a predetermined security-based evaluation function, the evolved circuit generating a constant output for a given input each time the evolved circuit is implemented in the particular reprogrammable IC based upon at least one physical property associated with a process variation of the particular reprogrammable IC, wherein the iterative configuration process results in a design for the evolved circuit based upon the at least one physical property associated with the process variation of the particular reprogrammable IC and the evolved circuit enables decrypting an encrypted bitstream for the particular reprogrammable IC.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A security circuit for a reprogrammable logic IC includes an evolved circuit that ties the performance of the security circuit to the physical properties of that particular reprogrammable logic IC. The security circuit can be a decryption and/or encryption circuit that decrypts and/or encrypts, respectively, a configuration bitstream for the IC. Because of the link between the performance of the security circuit and the physical properties of the IC, the security circuit cannot be used in other ICs. For example, an encrypted bitstream that can be decrypted by the security circuit in a first IC will typically not be decrypted by the same security circuit in a second IC, since the physical properties of the two ICs will typically be different. The evolved circuit can comprise a portion of the security circuit, such as a security key generator, or it can comprise the full security circuit.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A configuration bitstream for a particular reprogrammable integrated circuit (IC), the configuration bitstream comprising:
an evolved circuit bitstream for configuring an evolved circuit in the reprogrammable IC, the evolved circuit bitstream being defined by an iterative configuration process based on a predetermined security-based evaluation function, the evolved circuit generating a constant output for a given input each time the evolved circuit is implemented in the particular reprogrammable IC based upon at least one physical property associated with a process variation of the particular reprogrammable IC, wherein the iterative configuration process results in a design for the evolved circuit based upon the at least one physical property associated with the process variation of the particular reprogrammable IC and the evolved circuit enables decrypting an encrypted bitstream for the particular reprogrammable IC. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for encrypting a configuration bitstream for a particular reprogrammable integrated circuit (IC) having reprogrammable resources, the method comprising:
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evolving an evolved circuit by applying an iterative configuration process to a portion of the reprogrammable resources until the portion of the reprogrammable resources satisfies a predetermined security-based evaluation function, wherein the iterative configuration process results in a design for the evolved circuit based upon at least one physical property associated with a process variation of the particular reprogrammable IC and; incorporating the evolved circuit into a decryption circuit in the particular reprogrammable IC, wherein the evolved circuit will generate a constant output for a given input each time the evolved circuit is implemented in the particular reprogrammable IC based upon the at least one physical property associated with the process variation of the particular reprogrammable IC and enables the decryption circuit to decrypt an encrypted configuration bitstream for the particular reprogrammable IC; and encrypting the configuration bitstream to be decrypted by the decryption circuit. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for distributing a configuration bitstream for a particular reprogrammable integrated circuit (IC), the method comprising:
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designing a decryption circuit for the particular reprogrammable IC, the decryption circuit comprising an evolved circuit developed by applying an iterative configuration process to a set of resources in the particular reprogrammable IC until the set of resources satisfies a predetermined evaluation function, wherein the iterative configuration process results in a design for the evolved circuit based upon at least one physical property associated with a process variation of the particular reprogrammable IC and; creating an encrypted bitstream to be decrypted into the configuration bitstream by the decryption circuit; shipping the particular reprogrammable IC to a user; providing a decryption circuit bitstream to the user, the decryption circuit bitstream implementing the decryption circuit when loaded into the particular reprogrammable IC, wherein the evolved circuit of the decryption circuit will generate a constant output for a given input each time the evolved circuit is implemented in the particular reprogrammable IC based upon the at least one physical property associated with the process variation of the particular reprogrammable IC and enables the decryption circuit to decrypt the encrypted bitstream; and providing the encrypted bitstream to the user. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification