Robust Sensors and Countermeasures Against X-Ray and Multimodal Physical Attacks

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description GALAXI is a collaborative research project funded by the ANR, coordinated by Paolo Maistri (TIMA laboratory), running for 48 months. It brings together six partners: TIMA (coordinator), CEA-Leti, SIMaP in Grenoble, LCIS in Valence, the Hubert Curien Laboratory in Saint-Étienne, and Mines Saint-Étienne in Gardanne. The project studies the effects of X-ray attacks on secure electronic circuits, alone or combined with other physical attack vectors, laser, electromagnetic, thermal, or side-channel. Unlike classical fault models, X-ray attacks can cause permanent or semi-permanent changes to the component, related to total ionizing dose (TID) effects. They can be carried out while the component is powered off, and generate parametric drifts, increased leakage, threshold voltage shifts, and timing variations, which are poorly addressed by classical redundancy-based countermeasures. The work will focus on two complementary strands, forming a defense chain against X-ray and multimodal attacks: detecting these attacks, including when the device is powered off, and then designing robust countermeasures. 1 — Offline and Cumulative Attack Sensors. Design and evaluate sensors capable of detecting X-ray exposure and combined attacks, including when the system is powered off. Explore structures sensitive to total ionizing dose or to laser exposure, such as PUF-like structures or leakage-current-ba