Guest Editors' Introduction: Special Issue on 2021 Top Picks in Hardware and Embedded Security

ABSTRACT

Hardware is the foundation of many systems ranging from embedded systems, and Internet of Things devices, to cyber-physical systems. The increasing design complexity of hardware continues to challenge our ability to provide robust security guarantees, thereby undermining the security of systems and resulting in security breaches and leakage of private information. The direct and indirect costs of addressing security vulnerabilities (e.g., root cause analysis, deploying fixes and mitigations, and risk of product recalls) not only damage the reputation of a company, but also prolong time-to-market deadlines, thereby squeezing the supply chain. To this end, researchers from academia and industry have been developing tools and techniques that can help identify and mitigate security issues in hardware, thereby building a bedrock for system security. One important task toward this ambitious goal is to identify the best set of attack and defense tools and techniques in hardware and embedded security, which typically spans many communities ranging from devices to circuits to architecture to CAD to cryptography. This special issue presents the articles selected during the third edition of the workshop 'Top Picks in Hardware and Embedded Security' (shortly, Top Picks) held virtually (due to COVID-19) on November 5, 2021, 'co-located' with the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Computer- Aided Design. © 2013 IEEE.