Security extensions for integrity and confidentiality in embedded processors

With current trends toward embedded computer systems’ ubiquitous accessibility, connectivity, diversification, and proliferation, security becomes a critical issue in embedded computer systems design and operation. Embedded computer systems are subjected to both software and physical attacks aimed at subverting system operation, extracting key secrets, or intellectual property theft. We propose several cost-effective architectural extensions suitable for mid-range to high-end embedded processors. These extensions ensure the integrity and confidentiality of both instructions and data, introducing low performance overhead (1.86% for instructions and 14.9% for data).