MURI: Universal Security Theory for Evaluation and Design of Nano-scale Devices and for Development of Innovative Security Primitives

The mission of this MURI is to develop a universal security theory for evaluation and design of nano-scale devices and for development of innovative security primitives

The research seeks to provide a comprehensive system of first principles on which to base design, evaluation, and prediction of security performance of existing and next generation nano-devices. Our proposed universal security theory framework will make breakthroughs by (a) exploring the unique features of nano-scale devices and investigating how they contribute to security, (b) establishing novel abstract models that encapsulate the physical characteristics and functionality of nano-scale devices, (c) developing concrete heuristics that integrate the abstract models of nano-scale devices, (d) evaluating primitives/attacks in terms of universal properties/metrics that we develop, and (e) exploiting what is learned to redesign existing devices and innovatively
design new nano-devices with security in mind and vice versa.

Just as performance and power enjoyed many years of research during the early stages of device development, this MURI project intends to elevate “security” as a fundamental design parameter worthy of early consideration, thereby transforming the way new nano-devices are developed in the future.