Design of a hardware Root-of-Trust on embedded systems

Cybersecurity is a crucial component of the digital ecosystem in Europe, being fortified by global organizations like the NIST through strategies to prevent cyber attacks and information leakages. The Root-of-Trust in cybersecurity, tied to the CIA Triad principles, creates a secure computing environment using hardware, firmware, and software components to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Among these strategies, hardware Root-of-Trust is preferred for their immutability and reliable performance. On the other hand, the advent of quantum computing threatens traditional cybersecurity paradigms by potentially obsoleting current cryptographic algorithms, prompting the emergence of Post- Quantum Cryptography to develop quantum-resistant algorithms. This dissertation proposes that hardware cryptographic modules, forming a Root-of-Trust, are the most effective in securing Internet of Things devices, offering efficient performance and an additional layer of protection against software attacks, with a suite of cryptographic primitives, including SHA-2, SHA-3, Post-Quantum Cryptography accelerations, and a Physical Unclonable Function, addressing Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability.