Patent ID: 8242775

Claim:
Apparatus for detecting tampering with an integrated circuit (IC), the apparatus comprising: a second circuit comprising at least one conductor for conducting electrical current, the electrical current comprising, during at least one period of time, current of known strength, the electrical current generating a magnetic field; at least one magnetic field sensing device operatively associated with the IC, said sensing device having at least one electrical characteristic responsive to changes in a sensed magnetic field, said magnetic field sensing device being positioned so as to sense the magnetic field generated by current in the at least one conductor; and an analyzer operatively associated with said at least one magnetic field sensing device and the IC, said analyzer determining that the IC is being tampered with based, at least in part, on changes in the at least one electrical characteristic of said at least one magnetic field sensing device in response to changes in said sensed magnetic field generated by the electrical current in the at least one conductor during said at least one period of time, wherein the second circuit is operatively associated with the IC and the strength of the electrical current of known strength is controlled by the IC.