New Security Challenges Towards In-Sensor Computing Systems

TL;DR

This paper reviews security challenges in In-Sensor Computing systems, compares them with traditional sensors, predicts new attack scenarios, and demonstrates proof-of-concept defenses to inspire future security solutions.

Contribution

It provides the first comparative analysis of security issues between traditional sensors and ISC systems, and introduces new attack scenarios with proof-of-concept demonstrations.

Findings

Identified unique hardware security threats in ISC systems

Compared security challenges of ISC with traditional sensors

Presented proof-of-concept countermeasures for ISC security

Abstract

Data collection and processing in advanced health monitoring systems are experiencing revolutionary change. In-Sensor Computing (ISC) systems emerge as a promising alternative to save energy on massive data transmission, analog-to-digital conversion, and ineffective processing. While the new paradigm shift of ISC systems gains increasing attention, the highly compacted systems could incur new challenges from a hardware security perspective. This work first conducts a literature review to highlight the research trend of this topic and then performs comprehensive analyses on the root of security challenges. This is the first work that compares the security challenges of traditional sensor-involved computing systems and emerging ISC systems. Furthermore, new attack scenarios are predicted for board-, chip-, and device-level ISC systems. Two proof-of-concept demos are provided to inspire new countermeasure designs against unique hardware security threats in ISC systems.