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Virginia Tech

Hardware Architectures for Software Security

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The need for hardware-based software protection stems primarily from the increasing value of software coupled with the inability to trust software that utilizes or manages shared resources. By correctly utilizing security functions in hardware, trust can be removed from software. Existing hardware-based software protection solutions generally suffer from utilization of trusted software, lack of implementation, and/or extreme measures such as processor redesign. In contrast, the research outlined in this document proposes that substantial, hardware-based software protection can be achieved, without trusting software or redesigning the processor, by augmenting existing processors with security management hardware placed outside of the processor boundary. Benefits of this approach include the ability to add security features to nearly any processor, update security features without redesigning the processor, and provide maximum transparency to the software development and distribution processes. The major contributions of this research include the the augmentation methodology, design principles, and a graph-based method for analyzing hardware-based security systems.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph. D.
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2006

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Edmison, Joshua Nathaniel
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Jones, Mark T.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Abbott, A. Lynn
  • Martin, Thomas L.
  • Athanas, Peter M.
  • Patterson, Cameron D.
  • Brown, Ezra A.

Subjects

dc:subject × 6

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-10112006-204811
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/29244

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Edmison, Joshua Nathaniel. Hardware Architectures for Software Security. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/29244