System-on-Chip Security Validation and Recent Trends

System-on-Chip (SoC) technology is an integral part of every modern computing device today. Needless to say, SoC driven gadgets store and manage several, if not all of our sensitive intellectual assets, be it in our personal, financial and/or intimate physiological information domain. In this age where data is just a mere click away, Privacy and Data Security is of paramount importance and the need to address this has quickly percolated to the Hardware realm as well. Owing to fast-paced-development models and proliferation of the Electronics industry, Sub - contracting and purchasing third parties for their hardware Intellectual Property (IP) is turn into a ubiquitous exercise for its ease and economic benefits. However, this significantly has increased the risk of introducing security vulnerabilities such as hardware Trojans and other malicious components into the system through these third-party IPs. As a result, Security Validation for hardware systems has recently gained an elevated status in the Hardware System design and development lifecycle. The primary objective of this paper is to research and investigate various Security Validation Methods, the current challenges and gaps observed in the existing systems that were embraced in the hope of strengthening Security.