About the project
A brain implant cannot be given a new password. Neural data reveals intention and identity, and once stolen it cannot be reset. Yet most security research for brain–computer interfaces stops at the software. This project builds protection into the chip itself, and proves it on silicon you design and fabricate.
Brain–computer interfaces are entering clinics and consumer markets, yet the World Economic Forum reports that over 70% of commercial neurotechnology devices contain exploitable vulnerabilities. Neural data cannot be reset once stolen, and a device that stimulates can be turned against the person it is inside.
Almost every countermeasure proposed for these devices is software, and none reaches the chip inside the implant. Meanwhile implants are moving computation on board, because streaming raw data from a thousand channels costs more power than a patient can carry. On-device processing is assumed to improve privacy. Nobody has measured whether it does.
You will ask what it costs, in microwatts, to make an implant trustworthy, working from threat modelling to lightweight cryptographic design, an FPGA prototype, a fabricated chip, and side-channel evaluation of hardware you designed.
Outcomes:
- a threat model
- measured costs for on-chip protection
- a demonstrator device
You will join BrainLoop, which has taken four neural-interface chips through fabrication, with industry-standard CAD, wafer fabrication and side-channel measurement equipment. Supervision spans biomedical electronics and cyber security.
The School of Electronics and Computer Science is committed to promoting equality, diversity inclusivity as demonstrated by our Athena SWAN award. We welcome all applicants regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or age, and will give full consideration to applicants seeking flexible working patterns and those who have taken a career break. The University has a generous maternity policy, onsite childcare facilities, and offers a range of benefits to help ensure employees’ well-being and work-life balance. The University of Southampton is committed to sustainability and has been awarded the Platinum EcoAward.
