Cache performance and dynamic memory protection in embedded systems

Kendall, Andrew Joseph (2023) Cache performance and dynamic memory protection in embedded systems. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

In embedded system design, there is an ever-increasing need to improve security to meet the demands imposed by cyber-attack advancement. Key to the security of embedded systems are ways to exchange information between trusted zones and external memories vulnerable to attacks. System designers face the issue of increased program execution times due to increasingly complex security hardware. The research in this thesis is part of a larger effort to design a secure processor that develops specialized cryptographic and data randomization techniques in hardware. This thesis integrates caching to increase the security and performance of the secure processor. The design approach of the instruction and data caches allows us to test the effectiveness of cache size versus performance. The caches also interface with a shielding module that implements a dynamic computational diversity architecture. The shielding module and the caches implement continuous and periodic memory shuffling to protect against learning-based attacks. This thesis performs tests for execution time, perceived randomness of data, and hardware utilization. These results assess and optimize system security, computation, and hardware resource use.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Cyber security; Embedded systems; System design
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences > School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems
Date Deposited:	15 May 2025 21:52
Last Modified:	15 May 2025 21:52
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6140

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