Include the remaining useful bits of benny's review

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jaseg 2025-12-01 16:35:34 +01:00
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@ -238,24 +238,24 @@ IHSMs are a new design approach that utilizes mechanical motion to create secure
components. IHSMs solve the issue of creating an impenetrable tamper-sensing envelope by replacing the bespoke
tamper-sensing mesh foil with a set of simple, rigid meshes made from commodity Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) that are
rotating at high speed. In motion, these simple PCB tamper-sensing meshes are as secure as the much more sophisticated
bespoke foils used in conventional HSMs, yet they are simpler and less expensive to manufacture. To verify that the mesh
is rotating correctly, an accelerometer is placed on the rotating mesh, and its centrifugal force reading is used to
validate its path of motion.
bespoke foils used in conventional HSMs against an attacker with access to commercially available tools, yet they are
simpler and less expensive to manufacture. To verify that the mesh is rotating correctly, an accelerometer is placed on
the rotating mesh, and its centrifugal force reading is used to validate its path of motion.
IHSMs enable the protection of much larger payloads compared to conventional mesh designs, and they can support larger
power dissipation. Combined with their low cost, this enables the implementation of high-level hardware security in
applications that previously would not have been possible to secure.
IHSMs are the first fully open source HSM with advanced tamper sensing features. Across application domains, IHSMs can
be applied to gain resistance to physical attacks in scenarios where conventional HSMs were not used because of cost,
computing power or implementation effort. Where conventional HSMs come as fully integrated devices that only expose
limited APIs to their users, IHSMs at their core are just an enclosure that the user can put whatever hardware they need
into, adapting the tamper response to their application's needs. Since the simpler tamper-sensing mesh construction of
IHSMs scales to larger payload volumes, entire servers can be protected---something that is impossible with conventional
HSMs. Since the mesh in an IHSM is constantly moving, unlike a mesh in a conventional HSM, it does not have to entirely
cover the payload. Instead, it can have gaps that allow for air flow between outside and inside, enabling active cooling
of the IHSM's payload. This cooling capability sharply increases computing power by increasing feasible payload power
dissipation by two orders of magnitude.
To the best of our knowledge, IHSMs are the first fully open source, replicable HSM with advanced tamper sensing
features. Across application domains, IHSMs can be applied to gain resistance to physical attacks in scenarios where
conventional HSMs were not used because of cost, computing power or implementation effort. Where conventional HSMs come
as fully integrated devices that only expose limited APIs to their users, IHSMs at their core are just an enclosure that
the user can put whatever hardware they need into, adapting the tamper response to their application's needs. Since the
simpler tamper-sensing mesh construction of IHSMs scales to larger payload volumes, entire servers can be
protected---something that is impossible with conventional HSMs. Since the mesh in an IHSM is constantly moving, unlike
a mesh in a conventional HSM, it does not have to entirely cover the payload. Instead, it can have gaps that allow for
air flow between outside and inside, enabling active cooling of the IHSM's payload. This cooling capability increases
computing power by increasing feasible payload power dissipation by orders of magnitude~\cite{kordyban1998}.
\section{Research Questions and Contributions}