CRII: SaTC: Rowhammer Attack on Fresh and Recycled Memory Chips: Security Risks and Defenses

Rowhammer是一种软件辅助的网络攻击，通过精心设计多次快速访问同一行的内存访问模式，由于电荷泄漏导致对动态随机访问存储器(DRAM)的目标存储单元进行恶意更改。本研究主要针对一种抗Rowhammer记忆体系统进行适当的硬体特性研究。该研究将(I)通过硬件表征来识别易于Rowhammer的存储单元，(Ii)开发低成本的系统级技术来构建抗Rowhammer的存储系统，(Iii)实验研究假冒(尤其是回收的)DRAM芯片对Rowhammer的脆弱性，以及(Iv)开发识别回收的DRAM芯片的框架，如果发现Rowhammer有效性与老化之间的关系的话。研究结果和工具将引起个人消费者、联邦机构、数据中心、医疗保健、企业和汽车系统的高度兴趣，这些系统是Rowhammer攻击者的目标。这项研究的交叉性质将扩大计算机系统、安全和可靠性领域的知识进步，并将使不同社区之间的合作成为可能。(systems/device/reliability/hardware-security/algorithms).参与该项目的研究生和本科生将接受相关领域的培训和增长专业知识。研究成果还将用于现有的和新的研究生/本科课程的硬件安全培训和教育。所有公开发布的数据、源代码和同行评议的研究文章将在表演期间和之后提供，并将发布在https://www.trust-hub.org/data上，http://webpages.uah.edu/~mtr0011.This奖由计算机和信息科学与网络管理局的计算机和网络系统司共同资助。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Rowhammer is a software-assisted cyber attack that causes malicious changes to the target memory cells of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) due to charge leakage, by crafting memory access patterns which rapidly access the same row multiple times. This research focuses on proper hardware characterization towards a Rowhammer-resistant memory system. This characterization will also inform whether Rowhammer susceptibility increases with aging, and if so, will enable a method for detecting recycled chips.The research will (i) identify the Rowhammer-prone memory cells through hardware characterization, (ii) develop a low-cost system-level technique to build a Rowhammer-resistant memory system, (iii) experimentally study the vulnerability of counterfeit (especially recycled) DRAM chips to Rowhammer, and (iv) develop a framework that identifies recycled DRAM chips, if a relationship between Rowhammer effectiveness and aging is found. The research findings and tools will be of high interest to the individual consumers, federal agencies, data centers, healthcare, enterprise, and automobile systems, that are the targets of Rowhammer attacker. The cross-cutting nature of this research will broaden the advancement of knowledge in the field of computer systems, security, and reliability and will enable collaboration between various communities (systems/device/reliability/hardware-security/algorithms). The graduate and undergraduate students working on this project will receive training and grow expertise in the related fields. The research findings will also be used in existing and new graduate/undergraduate courses on hardware-security for training and education.All publicly released data, source codes, and peer-reviewed research articles will be made available during the period of performance and afterward, and will be posted at https://www.trust-hub.org/data and http://webpages.uah.edu/~mtr0011.This award is jointly funded by the Division of Computer and Network Systems in the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research in the Office of Integrative Activities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.