EC – SAS – Secure Systems and Architectures

The research unit Secure Systems and Architectures (SAS) is a joint team between CEA and École des Mines de Saint-Étienne. It is dedicated to the design and testing of secure circuits, contributing to the development of communicating solutions.

Mission and Focus

The main mission of the SAS department is to guarantee the integrity of electronic components and the data they contain, such as cryptographic keys, software, intellectual property blocks, and in-memory data, against fraudulent manipulations commonly referred to as “attacks”.

Main Missions

• Modeling of Physical Phenomena Related to Attacks
  Through experiments conducted on state-of-the-art equipment, such as current consumption analysis benches and laser or electromagnetic pulse fault injection benches, the department precisely models the physical phenomena enabling these attacks.
• Design of Effective Protections
  The developed models are used to design protections, with the most effective ones being integrated into design flows according to the “secure by design” method.

Strategic Challenges

• Proactive Security
  Anticipating threats as early as possible and in various forms, in a context where security is a permanent race between attackers and defenders.
• System Robustness
  Developing communicating solutions through the design and testing of secure circuits, contributing to robustness against attacks.

Key Contributions

The SAS department is involved in various collaborative projects and partnerships aimed at strengthening the security of electronic systems.

Collaborative Projects

• FQS Project
  This project aims to design, develop, and validate a secure hardware architecture for the MCU component and its I/O peripherals of the SP3H system.
• GESTE Project
  The objective is to propose a certification methodology adapted to the payment terminal market and to demonstrate the feasibility of a terminal meeting SEPA security requirements.

Partnerships

The SAS department collaborates with various industrial and academic stakeholders to strengthen the security of electronic systems.

Priority Research Themes

• Securing Embedded Systems and IoT
  Study of vulnerabilities and development of countermeasures for connected devices.
• Design of Resilient Architectures for Critical Infrastructures
  Development of solutions to ensure continuity of operations in case of attacks or failures.
• Cryptography and Protection of Sensitive Data
  Implementation of advanced cryptographic mechanisms to protect confidential information.
• Security Evaluation and Certification
  Development of methodologies to evaluate and certify the security of electronic systems.

Supervisory Institutions

• CEA Tech
• École des Mines de Saint-Étienne

Management

Members

The Secure Systems and Architectures (SAS) unit, as a Joint Research Team (JRT), forms a bridge between the academic world and industrial needs in cybersecurity and critical system resilience.

Thanks to its ambitious projects and strategic collaborations, SAS contributes to the secure digital transformation of businesses and public institutions, while ensuring ethical and responsible governance of digital systems.