
\chapter*{Abstract}
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\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{Abstract}

%Through advancements in cryptography, nowadays it is feasible to construct networked computer systems that for all
%intents and purposes cannot be hacked over the network. Correctly applying cryptographic protocols and techniques such
%as formal verification, it can be ensured that a software implementation is a flawless representation of its theoretical
%model, and that the theoretical model is secure given universally accepted cryptographic assumptions. Despite 

% FIXME leo's notes
With cryptographic advancements and techniques like formal verification leading to increasingly secure software, the
hardware level advances into the focus of contemporary applied computer security research. However, the state of the art
in hardware security still often relies on the use of microelectronic integration to achieve security by obscurity over
more fundamental security guarantees. System-level tamper protection is sometimes used, but remains relegated to niche
applications due to the high cost and low performance of devices like Hardware Security Modules (HSMs).

In this thesis, Jan Sebastian Götte introduces the Inertial Hardware Security Module (IHSM), a new architecture for
low-cost hardware security modules that provide high-level active tamper protection, while supporting computing payloads
of much larger size, weight and power dissipation compared to conventional HSMs. In an IHSM, the costly and difficult to
source tamper-sensing mesh of a conventional HSM is replaced by a mesh made from simple PCBs that is rotating at high
speed around the payload. Since the mesh is rotating, it cannot be manipulated, and the security of conventional meshes
created in bespoke manufacturing processes can be achieved using much simpler and less expensive construction
techniques. We present the results of a survey of approximately 30 real world tamper sensing mesh implementations. We
deduce design criteria for secure meshes and contextualize our design. We further motivate the necessity of secure
hardware by presenting an analysis of problematic aspects in the hardware security design of Germany's new national
electronic health record system.

To pave the way for practical implementations of IHSM technology, we present solutions to key engineering challenges in
IHSM construction. We present a design and analysis of highly symmetric planar inductors for rotating wireless power
transfer.
% FIXME improvement in numbers
We present a high-fidelity, low-cost monitoring system for security meshes that is based on the principles of
Time-Domain Reflectometry (TDR). We validate our system and find that it is able to reliably detect several classes of
advanced physical attacks. We find that our system is sensitive enough to detect differences between identical copies of
the same mesh, suggesting PUF-like properties.

Applying IHSM technology, we analyse two use cases that are unlocked by the increased size and power dissipation
capability of IHSMs. In the first analysis, an IHSM-secured relay node for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems is
proposed, enabling their practical implementation across arbitrary distances, which requires trusted relay stations due
to fundamental physical limitations. In the study, IHSMs are adapted for such high-security QKD relays by securing the
IHSM mesh passthrough with a secondary tamper-sensing mesh. In this setup, a bracket design is proposed that supports
passing through optical fibers at low loss.

The second proposed use case adapts an IHSM enclosure to the size, power and thermal dissipation requirements of a
high-power server to support co-located secure Multiparty Computation (MPC) workloads. In practical MPC deployments,
nodes are distributed across data centers to avoid a single point of failure for physical attacks. As a result,
practical MPC deployments are limited by network bandwidth and latency constraints. Using IHSMs, physically secured MPC
nodes can be deployed within the same data center, increasing bandwidth, reducing latency and unlocking a new
performance spectrum.
