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An Embedded-Software Based Method to Prevent System Design Change in the Field

Ghassab, Mahdi | 2025

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 58603 (19)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Computer Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Ejlali, Alireza; Asadi, Hossein
  7. Abstract:
  8. One of the major challenges concerning many of today’s computing systems is that, once released to the market, they are often modified by third parties to serve purposes that deviate from the original intentions of their designers and manufacturers. This is sue spans a wide range of systems, including embedded systems, cyber-physical systems, data storage systems, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In such scenarios, ensuring f irmware integrity becomes a critical and essential task, particularly in the processes of firmware delivery and updates. Unfortunately, most existing solutions rely on ex ternal trusted components such as secure storage technologies, blockchain systems, or secure servers. This dependency can significantly hinder their effectiveness in resource constrained environments such as cyber-physical systems or IoT devices. To address this limitation, we propose a novel self-protection approach at the firmware level. This method performs integrity verification by injecting anti-tamper controllers directly into the firmware code and generating diversified (morphing) versions of the firmware. In this research, we aim to increase the cost and effort required to modify the firmware binary by introducing software-level logic bombs that raise the number of necessary trial-and error attempts for successful tampering. A key advantage of the proposed approach is its independence from external trusted components, which drastically reduces the implementation cost in embedded systems and makes it broadly applicable. Furthermore, to enhance the effectiveness of the proposed solution, the method combines logic bombs with code diversification techniques. This not only complicates the deactivation of the logic bombs but also significantly increases their distribution throughout the firmware code. The unique feature of this approach lies in its high adaptability, allowing the f inal firmware to be tailored while meeting the energy and hardware constraints of the target system
  9. Keywords:
  10. Firmware ; Preventing Change ; Embedded Software ; Metamorphic Code ; Anti-Tampering

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