What tamper detection IP brings to SoC designs

By Chris Morrison, Agile Analog
Planet Analog | April 1, 2025

The growing complexity and frequency of security threats facing organizations across the globe has transformed opinion about what’s needed to keep devices secure. Modern system-on-chips (SoCs) take a ‘Zero Trust’ approach, assuming that no user, device or application is inherently trustworthy. In parallel to this approach, complementary solutions, including anti-tamper measures, are increasingly important.

Analog IPs such as clock, voltage and temperature monitors are all crucial components for tamper detection within ICs, helping to identify suspicious behavior or physical manipulation that could compromise critical infrastructure and expose sensitive information.

Tamper detection

Security threats are becoming more advanced than ever before, as attackers are discovering new techniques to exploit vulnerabilities. The secure area within a microprocessor and an SoC involves sensitive computations, so these can be especially vulnerable. There has been a surge in physical attacks, such as clock and voltage glitching, side-channel attacks and tampering incidents.

Until recently, digital anti-tamper solutions have been used in all but the most secure systems. However, these digital solutions come with compromises in their ability to detect all kinds of tamper attacks and could be impacted by reduced accuracy or increased false positives when there are variations in process, voltage, or temperature.

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