A HARDWARE COMMAND FILTER MATRIX INTEGRATED CIRCUIT WITH RESTRICTED COMMAND ENFORCEMENT CAPABILITY

摘要

A semiconductor integrated circuit includes a hardware mechanism arranged to ensure that associations between instructions and data are enforced so that a processor cannot execute an instruction that is not authorized. A Command Filter Matrix stores entries comprising instructions and associated data memory ranges. A hardware arrangement denies command execution if the CPU attempts to make a data fetch from an instruction that is outside the range associated with data in the Command Filter Matrix. The Command Filter Matrix may be implemented in a Field Programmable Gate Array such that the memory cell content is pre-programmed with entrusted code by a separate trusted hardware source. In this way, an operating system may function normally but only execute trusted instructions, commands and memory operations. The Command Filter Matrix also contains external write-only capability to enable external monitoring of performance.