ACBuilder: A tool for hardware architecture security evaluation

Abstract

In this work we propose to enable the security analysis of hardware architecture independently of its physical implementation. This will help to discover vulnerabilities and flaws in a broad range of architectures, and to identify problems before the costly process of design and manufacturing. Our approach employs Assurance Cases, proposed in [1] as a flexible methodology that builds upon Safety Case approaches used in such mission-critical industries as aerospace, nuclear power, and national defense. More specifically, in this paper we present our research on software frameworks to aid security analysts in the development of assurance cases. We describe how our research prototype, ACBuilder, can be used to model hardware architectures, apply existing analysis patterns, develop analysis rules, and generate assurance cases. We then apply the methodology to an illustrative example for evaluation, and discuss avenues for developing the software framework further. This includes opportunities for automation and enabling community-based approaches for developing reusable patterns.