Hardware Trojan
What is Hardware Trojan?
Hardware TrojanA malicious modification of an integrated circuit, inserted during design or fabrication, that triggers covert behaviour such as data leakage or denial of service.
A hardware Trojan is a deliberate, hidden alteration of a chip's logic, layout, or firmware introduced somewhere in the supply chain — by a rogue designer, a third-party IP block, an untrusted foundry, or during packaging. Triggers are typically rare conditions (specific inputs, time, temperature) to evade testing; payloads include leaking cryptographic keys, downgrading entropy, opening backdoors, or disabling the chip on demand. Detection is hard because post-silicon inspection is destructive and functional testing rarely exercises the trigger. Defences combine trusted-foundry programs, formal equivalence checking of RTL against masks, side-channel-based screening, split manufacturing, and provenance attestation.
● Examples
- 01
A rogue IP core that leaks an AES key over an unused JTAG pin when a magic input is observed.
- 02
A counterfeit microcontroller whose RNG quietly produces predictable values.
● Frequently asked questions
What is Hardware Trojan?
A malicious modification of an integrated circuit, inserted during design or fabrication, that triggers covert behaviour such as data leakage or denial of service. It belongs to the Vulnerabilities category of cybersecurity.
What does Hardware Trojan mean?
A malicious modification of an integrated circuit, inserted during design or fabrication, that triggers covert behaviour such as data leakage or denial of service.
How do you defend against Hardware Trojan?
Defences for Hardware Trojan typically combine technical controls and operational practices, as detailed in the full definition above.
What are other names for Hardware Trojan?
Common alternative names include: Silicon Trojan, Chip-level Trojan.