Education Background

As computing devices such as servers, workstations, laptops, and embedded systems are transported from one site to another, they are susceptible to unauthorized firmware modifications. Additionally, traditional over-the-air (OTA) firmware update mechanisms often lack robust security features, exposing devices to threats such as unauthorized updates, malware injection, etc. While the industry has made efforts to secure the boot process using a hardware root of trust (HRoT), post-boot firmware tampering remains a significant risk. In this work, we introduce a comprehensive framework that addresses firmware security across both transit and remote update phases by leveraging HRoT and cryptographic techniques. To prevent unauthorized firmware modifications during device shipment, we propose the PIT-Cerberus (Protection In Transit) framework, which enhances the HRoTs attestation capabilities to securely lock and unlock BIOS/UEFI. In addition, we introduce the Secure Remote Firmware Update Protocol (S-RFUP) to fortify OTA firmware updates by incorporating industry standards such as Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) and Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP). These standards enable interoperability across diverse platforms while reducing management complexity. The protocol enhances security and operational integrity during updates, ensuring that only authenticated and verified firmware modifications occur. Both frameworks are implemented within a trusted microcontroller as part of Project Cerberus, an open-source security platform for server hardware. We present a security analysis, implementation details, and validation results, demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach in securing firmware both in transit and during remote updates.

This thesis presents an AI-driven approach to model dynamic attack graphs for firmware systems, integrating explainable AI techniques and formal verification. The methodology leverages Hardware Root-of-Trust, enabling proactive threat detection and automated response generation. Results demonstrate improved resilience of firmware ecosystems in critical infrastructure scenarios.

The function of a signal generator is to produce a waveform of prescribed characteristics such as frequency, amplitude, shape, duty cycle. Sometimes this characteristic is designed to be externally programmable via suitable control signals. In this project I am designing a signal generator which will produce sinusoidal, rectangular and triangular signal. I design a circuit which can produce each of this signal separately and then I will combine this three circuit to design a complete signal generator. In first face I design a sine wave generator. For more precision I am using a diode circuit. Sine wave oscillators are used as references or test waveforms by many circuits. A pure sine wave has only a single or fundamental frequency ideally no harmonics are present. Thus, a sine wave may be the input to a device or circuit, with the output harmonics measured to determine the amount of distortion. So my main aim is to...