Feature: Hardware design
Mitigation Now that we are aware of the problems, we must do something about it. Te first rule is that security can’t be designed in later; it must be considered from the start of the project. Tis means selecting and designing suitable hardware, developing your firmware so that it is attack resistant, including a hardware security testing phase to find any vulnerabilities, as well as keeping up with news and literature.
The hardware High security devices incorporate a range of physical security features designed to prevent hardware attacks. With the growth of connected and IoT devices, many standard microcontrollers now include such features as part of their security model. Tese will help to Hide (make data independent of power), Mask (introduce random intermediate values) and Blind (random noise insertion) to prevent and attacker gaining knowledge. Table 1 shows features to look for in a device data sheet.
Fault injection hardening The devices can be strengthened with a range of coding techniques that are grouped under the term ‘Fault Injection Hardening’; see Table 2. Remember to turn down the compiler optimisations so that any redundant code isn’t optimised out. In addition, learning more about
functional safety will ensure safe device operation. Safety systems use intelligent watchdogs that provide a challenge response mechanism to ensure the main CPU is running correctly. Such a watchdog is also used for constant time monitoring, which checks a region of code has executed within given time boundaries. An RTOS designed for functional safety will generally provide a process isolation mechanism. Tis will use the processor memory protection unit (MPU) to create an execution region for each active thread. Every time there is a task switch, the MPU is reprogrammed to only allow access to resources granted to the active thread. Tis locks down the device and detects any out-of-bounds operation.
Figure 6: Example EMFI probe (ChipShouter) mounted on an XYZ table
Dealing with device safety in the real world This article just scratches the surface of a growing real-world problem. Already there are more computationally advanced attacks that use machine learning models as classifiers to analyse test results, or more advanced agents to fully automate attacks. If you are working with any embedded
device that holds or processes sensitive information, you must consider hardware attacks as part of your security model from the very beginning.
RESOURCES: Book:
The ‘Hardware Hacking Handbook’, by Jasper Van Woudenberg and Colin O’Flynn; ISBN 978-1-59327-874- 854999
Getting started:
Chip Whisperer Nano Low-cost learning platform and security test equipment
https://www.newae.com/hardware
www.electronicsworld.co.uk February 2026 25
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