Putting microchips under lock and key

Researchers at the University of Michigan and Rice University have come up with a way to crooks from  making counterfeit microchips.

Under their scheme, dubbed EPIC (Ending Piracy of Integrated Circuits) each chip would have its own lock and keys, the latter of which would be held by the patent holder. The technique uses established crytography methods and would require what the researchers say is a slight change in the chip design process.

Chip piracy has been on the rise in connection with increased outsourcing of production, which includes transfer of microchip blueprints. 

Read a paper on EPIC here .