using logic-based reduction for adversarial component recovery
A current means to protect intellectual property embedded in both circuits and software involves creating a functionally equivalent variant with subjective qualities related to difficulty of reverse engineering. In this paper, we consider the problem of protection in a smaller, generalized class of programs based on Boolean logic primitives. We consider Boolean logic reduction as one means to quantify hardness of undoing structural transformations designed to impede reverse engineering. We detail our experiences in using both commercial synthesis tools and organic red-team tools that simplify transformations using known basic logic patterns. Using simple component recovery on candidate circuits, we show how specific variation methods impact adversarial analysis and posit relationships between specific transformations and corresponding difficulty of reversal.
reverse engineering circuit obfuscation intellectual property protection hardware security anti-tamper applications