First Challenge Prototype: “Security by Design”

First Challenge Prototype: “Security by Design”

How can security be embedded directly into the design of modern chips? With the first Open Source Chip Design Challenge, we put Security by Design front and center and show how students can develop practical solutions for security-critical applications.

Modern integrated circuits are used in a wide range of scenarios: from tiny chips in credit cards and national ID cards to powerful accelerators for AI applications. Each use case comes with its own requirements that significantly shape the design process. Sometimes the focus lies on ultra-low power consumption, for example in IoT sensors, while in other cases computing performance or data throughput is the key priority, such as in networking equipment or cloud infrastructure. To reflect the diversity of chip design requirements, the focus topic of the competition changes each year, along with the corresponding tasks and evaluation criteria.

From concept to secure hardware

In this first prototype round, the competition will address the highly relevant topic of Security by Design, with a particular focus on integrated circuits for security-critical applications. Being aware of potential security risks already during the development process is crucial in hardware design—because retrofitting security afterwards is often extremely costly. While software vulnerabilities can often be fixed with a simple update, a flaw in a hardware design usually requires an expensive new production run and replacement of affected devices. Security by Design means considering possible attack scenarios right from the earliest design phases—especially when developing for security-sensitive environments.

From design to industrial fabrication

During the challenge, participants will tackle various questions around the security of modern chips, with a focus on defending against attackers with physical access. This type of adversary is particularly powerful, as they may leverage advanced techniques to bypass a device’s security. Examples include extracting secret information through statistical analysis of data-dependent power consumption or injecting targeted faults during sensitive computations to circumvent security checks and gain access to critical data. Preventing such attack vectors requires dedicated countermeasures – an essential part of the competition’s tasks.

The best chip design solutions will be awarded and move on to industrial fabrication and real-world testing. In this way, the Open Source Chip Design Challenge bridges theoretical knowledge with practical application and demonstrates how Security by Design can be seamlessly integrated into the development of modern chips from the very beginning.

The first challenge will launch in the winter semester 2025/2026 at Hochschule RheinMain, Hochschule München, and Ruhr University Bochum.

Text: Niklas Höher & Johanna Wallenborn