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political tool, and it confers on the field an intrinsically moral dimension.}
\chapter{Conclusion}
In this thesis, we propose Inertial Hardware Security Modules (IHSMs), a new approach to physical security that combines
conventional tamper-sensing meshes with physical movement to bootstrap a highly secure system from low-security,
off-the-shelf parts, solving our first research question introduced in Chapter~\ref{chapter-intro}. To motivate our
research, we use the German national digital health record system as an example demonstrating the difficulties in
achieving useful hardware security in practice. Besides some minor cryptographic oddities, our analysis reveals at least
one essential specification mistake that negates the hardware security of the system by unnecessarily introducing a
poorly protected HSM. With this motivation in mind, we support the construction of concretely secure IHSMs by providing
deep analyses of two key engineering challenges in IHSM construction, mesh monitoring and power transfer. Solving our
second research question, we propose a low-cost TDR-based mesh monitoring system that exceeds the capabilities of
previous systems from academic or from patent literature. Our system is capable of monitoring large meshes while
simultaneously providing detailed results. Our TDR-based mesh monitoring system is of independent interest, since it can
also be integrated into traditional HSM designs. We additionally propose a new, generalized design for high-frequency
PCB inductors with low parasitic capacitance. Our design provides better bandwidth and lower parasitic capacitance
compared to the state of the art without increasing implementation cost. We conclude this thesis with two chapters
elaborating on two new use cases that are made possible by IHSM technology due to its ability to protect large payloads
that have high power consumption. Together, these results answer our third and final research question.
In this thesis, we provided an examination of the field of Hardware Security Modules both from an academic perspective
and with regards to their practical implementation. We answered our first research question introduced in
Chapter~\ref{chapter-intro} on the current state of the art in Chapters~\ref{chapter-epa} and \ref{chapter-survey},
providing a comprehensive view of practical implementations. Chapter~\ref{chapter-epa} motivates our research using the
German national digital health record system as an example that demonstrates the difficulties in achieving practical
hardware security. Besides some minor cryptographic oddities, our analysis reveals at least one essential specification
mistake that negates the hardware security of the system by unnecessarily introducing a poorly protected HSM. In
Chapter~\ref{chapter-survey}, we answer our second research question in a detailed survey of a wide range of devices
that utilize tamper-sensing meshes, distilling a set of criteria for the design of secure tamper-sensing meshes. In
Chapter~\ref{chapter-ihsm}, we propose Inertial Hardware Security Modules (IHSMs), a new approach to physical security
that combines conventional tamper-sensing meshes with physical movement. IHSMs enable bootstrapping a highly secure
system from low-security, off-the-shelf parts, thereby solving our third research question on achieving physical
security without bespoke components. We support the construction of concretely secure IHSMs by providing deep analyses
of two key engineering challenges in IHSM construction, mesh monitoring and power transfer. Solving our fourth research
question on mesh monitoring fidelity, we propose a low-cost TDR-based mesh monitoring system that exceeds the
capabilities of previous systems from academic or from patent literature. Our system is capable of monitoring large
meshes while simultaneously providing detailed results. Our TDR-based mesh monitoring system is of independent interest,
since it can also be integrated into traditional HSM designs. Solving our fifth research question on ripple reduction
for rotating Wireless Power Transfer for IHSMs, we propose a new, generalized design for high-frequency PCB inductors
with low parasitic capacitance. Beyond our IHSM application, our design provides better bandwidth and lower parasitic
capacitance compared to the state of the art without increasing implementation cost. We conclude this thesis with two
chapters elaborating on two new use cases that are made possible by IHSM technology due to its ability to protect large
payloads that have high power consumption. Together, these results answer our sixth and final research question.
The research presented in this thesis is aimed at advancing both academic research and applied engineering in hardware
security. We believe that by publishing our research including its artifacts under open source licenses, we provide the