Anti-Tamper Radio meets Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface for System-Level Tamper Detection

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Tabar, Maryam Shaygan, Kortz, Johannes, Staat, Paul, Elders-Boll, Harald, Paar, Christof, Zenger, Christian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Tabar, Maryam Shaygan
Kortz, Johannes
Staat, Paul
Elders-Boll, Harald
Paar, Christof
Zenger, Christian
author_facet Tabar, Maryam Shaygan
Kortz, Johannes
Staat, Paul
Elders-Boll, Harald
Paar, Christof
Zenger, Christian
contents Many computing systems need to be protected against physical attacks using active tamper detection based on sensors. One technical solution is to employ an ATR (Anti-Tamper Radio) approach, analyzing the radio wave propagation effects within a protected device to detect unauthorized physical alterations. However, ATR systems face key challenges in terms of susceptibility to signal manipulation attacks, limited reliability due to environmental noise, and regulatory constraints from wide bandwidth usage. In this work, we propose and experimentally evaluate an ATR system complemented by an RIS to dynamically reconfigure the wireless propagation environment. We show that this approach can enhance resistance against signal manipulation attacks, reduce bandwidth requirements from several~GHz down to as low as 20 MHz, and improve robustness to environmental disturbances such as internal fan movements. Our work demonstrates that RIS integration can strengthen the ATR performance to enhance security, sensitivity, and robustness, recognizing the potential of smart radio environments for ATR-based tamper detection
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_14279
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Anti-Tamper Radio meets Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface for System-Level Tamper Detection
Tabar, Maryam Shaygan
Kortz, Johannes
Staat, Paul
Elders-Boll, Harald
Paar, Christof
Zenger, Christian
Cryptography and Security
Many computing systems need to be protected against physical attacks using active tamper detection based on sensors. One technical solution is to employ an ATR (Anti-Tamper Radio) approach, analyzing the radio wave propagation effects within a protected device to detect unauthorized physical alterations. However, ATR systems face key challenges in terms of susceptibility to signal manipulation attacks, limited reliability due to environmental noise, and regulatory constraints from wide bandwidth usage. In this work, we propose and experimentally evaluate an ATR system complemented by an RIS to dynamically reconfigure the wireless propagation environment. We show that this approach can enhance resistance against signal manipulation attacks, reduce bandwidth requirements from several~GHz down to as low as 20 MHz, and improve robustness to environmental disturbances such as internal fan movements. Our work demonstrates that RIS integration can strengthen the ATR performance to enhance security, sensitivity, and robustness, recognizing the potential of smart radio environments for ATR-based tamper detection
title Anti-Tamper Radio meets Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface for System-Level Tamper Detection
topic Cryptography and Security
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.14279