Abstract
The counterfeit and stolen information and communication technologies (ICT) devices are an essential and growing problem. Reliable technology for the identification of ICT devices is required to enable blocking of these devices in the network worldwide. Motivated by this challenge, we elaborate on the idea of using the unique degradation image of flash memory chip (DFMC) as the identifier of the device. This idea is based on the assumption that the distribution of degraded segments in the memory chip is unique enough to provide reliable identification of the device. In this paper, we provide a proof of concept through a hardware experiment. For this experiment, we developed a custom test bed and special software enabling the forced degradation of NOR-flash memory chips. We, then, consider the uniqueness of such identifiers using combination theory and consider practical issues of DFMC implementation, including the initial identification procedure, light dynamic identifiers, and identification using a cross-correlation function and options of dynamic identification. We conclude that using DFMC addresses relevant challenges of ICT devices identification.
Highlights
The recent development of electronics has led to active penetration of information and communication technologies (ICT) to all spheres of life [1]–[5]
THE DEGRADATION OF FLASH MEMORY The NOR-flash memory is a two-dimensional array of lowlevel memory cells, located on the matrix of the conductor [29], [30]
As it was demonstrated in this paper, the degraded flash memory sector can be used as a unique identifier of a device
Summary
The recent development of electronics has led to active penetration of information and communication technologies (ICT) to all spheres of life (e.g., automatization of industrial processes, e-health, smart homes, smart wearables) [1]–[5]. There are many mission-critical applications, such as e-health [6] or remote surgery [7]. These applications need more rigid requirements for reliability, security, and quality of services [6], [8]. To satisfy these higher requirements, manufacturers made significant efforts to improve their devices [9]. These devices tend to be more expensive and often become a target of counterfeiting
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