Memory Access Pattern Obfuscation

Memory access patterns can expose sensitive program information through side channels. This NSF-supported project (opens in a new tab) studies practical obfuscation methods for current and emerging memory architectures while addressing the performance cost of protecting those patterns.

The research coordinates cryptographic algorithms, the requirements of applications that need protection, and memory architecture designs. It addresses security challenges associated with larger shared memory spaces, persistent data, and concurrent accesses.

The project aims to develop integrated secure architecture designs and obfuscation schemes that improve the performance of cryptographic protocols in computing systems and applications. Related publications include COSMOS (opens in a new tab), which studies locality-aware counter-cache optimization for secure memory.