MICROCOMPUTERS OF THE NEW PROTECTED ARCHITECTURE: ANALYSIS AND PRACTICE OF DATA PROTECTION

• Main Authors: V. A. Konyavskiy, G. V. Ross
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: CRI «Electronics» 2017-11-01
• Series: Радиопромышленность
• Subjects: von neumann architecture; harvard architecture; vulnerability; turing machine; hacker (virus) attack
• Online Access: https://www.radioprom.org/jour/article/view/254

The problems of information protection in computers with classical architectures are considered: von Neumann architecture and  Harvard  architecture,  the  main  point  of  which  is  the  wide  use  of  computers  of  a  deliberately  untrusted  design  for solving vital tasks. The uncertainty of the standard modern computer is manifested, in particular, in that it is vulnerable to viruses.  This  vulnerability  is  all  the  more  dangerous,  the  more  the  computer  is  integrated  into  the  global  network.  The imperfect architecture of computers makes it almost an ideal environment for the uncontrolled spread of digital viruses. The article analyzes the computer vulnerability of architectures: von Neumann and Harvard. It is shown that architectural vulnerability is inherent in each of the classical architectures, which is associated with the ability to change the sequence of  commands  and  data  regardless  of  whether  they  are  in  shared  memory  or  in  split  memory.  Such  organization  of architectures  creates  conditions  for  conducting  hacker  attacks.  The  stages  of  virus  infiltration  and  possible  methods  of their neutralization due to computer architecture changes are considered. A new architecture of the computer, called «new Harvard» architecture, is proposed. A distinctive feature is that the memory operates in the «read only» mode, and the  loading of commands and data is carried out in the so-called «session memory», in which they can be executed sequentially and  in  parallel.  Thus,  the  new  computer  architecture  significantly  increases  the  level  of  data  protection  from  various viruses and thus provides a trusted environment. The practical implementation of this architecture is protected by 8 patents and has the following modifications: MKT, MKT +, MKTrusT, MKcard, MKcard-long, AQ-MK, TrusTPAD. The development of new types of computers continues.