Secure and Optimized IP design using Key-driven Cipher-Based Multi-layer Encrypted HLS Watermarking integrated with FA based Exploration

Abstract

Intellectual Property (IP) designs play a pivotal role in the development of modern system-on-chips (SoCs). However, due to globalization in the modern design supply chain of integrated circuits, IP designs have become prone to external hardware threats of IP piracy and fraud IP ownership attack. This paper presents a novel methodology for secure and optimized IP design using key-driven cipher based multi-layer encrypted high level synthesis (HLS) watermarking integrated with firefly algorithm-based exploration. The proposed security approach is more robust and secure than prior IP watermarking techniques in terms of lower probability of coincidence, higher tamper tolerance ability and lower probability of decoding attack (key-bits), at zero design overhead (watermark area and latency). © 2025 IEEE.