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Towards Securing Approximate Computing Systems: Security Threats and Attack Mitigation

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Approximate Computing

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Abstract

Approximate computing (AC) techniques have been leveraged to improve computing performance and energy efficiency with minor degradation on accuracy. Recent literature indicates that some AC mechanisms could be exploited by attackers to implement new attack surfaces. In this chapter, we introduce unique attacks that are applicable to AC systems and provide examples of practical attacks. Furthermore, we introduce general principles of defense mechanism design to strengthen the resilience of AC systems against emerging attacks. Several countermeasures are examined in the applications such as digital signal processing and artificial neural network.

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Acknowledgements

This work is partially supported by the National Science Foundation awards CNS-1652474 and CNS-2022279.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA

    Qiaoyan Yu, Pruthvy Yellu & Landon Buell

Authors
  1. Qiaoyan Yu
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  2. Pruthvy Yellu
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  3. Landon Buell
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Correspondence to Qiaoyan Yu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China

    Weiqiang Liu

  2. Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

    Fabrizio Lombardi

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Yu, Q., Yellu, P., Buell, L. (2022). Towards Securing Approximate Computing Systems: Security Threats and Attack Mitigation. In: Liu, W., Lombardi, F. (eds) Approximate Computing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98347-5_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98347-5_14

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-98346-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-98347-5

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