[02.10.2024] A PhD is typically a challenging journey, but Gizem's path was filled with extraordinary difficulties. Despite the obstacles, she persevered and successfully completed her degree. Congratulations to Gizem Süngü Terci for earning her PhD in Computer Engineering today! Her PhD Thesis is about a new generation of evolutionary algorithms utilizing Bitvertex represenation to accelerate graph coloring for register allocation.

[30.09.2024] The paper titled as Hybrid Cost-Effective Decapsulation of Chips for Successful Laser Fault Injection and authored by Furkan Bekar and Alp Arslan Bayrakci has been accepted by the 17th International Conference on Information Security and Cryptology.

The abstract is as follows: As attacking techniques evolve, hardware security has become increasingly critical. This paper presents a hybrid decapsulation technique combining mechanical and chemical etching to prepare chips for laser fault injection (LFI). We propose a two-stage process: initial mechanical etching using a milling machine to precisely thin the chip down to a 100 micron layer above the die surface, followed by repetitive chemical etching with fuming nitric acid to expose the die while protecting wire bonds. The method is validated through functional tests and an actual LFI attack targeting the AES encryption algorithm on ATmega328P chips. The functional test confirms the accurate operation of the chip after the decapsulation, while the executed LFI attacks successfully modify the ciphertext output, demonstrating the effectiveness of the hybrid decapsulation in transforming chips into suitable candidates for LFI attacks.

[29.09.2024] The paper titled as Parallelization of BitColor Algorithm via Multithreading and GPU for Graph Coloring and authored by Burak Kocausta, Gizem Sungu Terci and Alp Arslan Bayrakci has been accepted by the 9th International Conference on Computer Science and Engineering (UBMK 2024). Especially congratulations for Burak as he has managed that success during his ungraduate study.

The abstract is as follows: The graph coloring problem is a fundamental NPhard problem with numerous applications in scheduling, register allocation, and network optimization. Traditional sequential algorithms for graph coloring are computationally expensive, particularly for large-scale graphs. In this paper, we propose the Parallel BitColor Algorithm (PBitCo), an extension of the BitColor framework, designed to exploit the parallel processing capabilities of modern CPU and GPU architectures. The PBitCo algorithm utilizes bitwise operations to reduce time complexity and employs parallel execution on widely accessible platforms to further enhance performance. We implemented and tested the algorithm on various graph instances, comparing its performance against conventional graph coloring methods. Our results demonstrate that PBitCo achieves significant speedups, with the GPU implementation delivering up to 10x improvement over baseline methods.

[20.09.2024] Enes Abdulhalik, previously an undergraduate member of GTU ICL, has started his new journey as an MSc student member of the lab. Even before graduating he co-authored a journal paper with Gizem and Alp. Wishing you all the best in this new chapter of your career, Enes.

He will be studying on register allocation problem and search its optimal solution space utilizing both GPU and FPGAs.

[26.09.2024] After a long journey starting with an MSc in GTU ICL Lab, finally Fatma Nur Esirci has successfully completed her PhD degree. She is the first PhD graduate of this lab. Congratulations to Fatma Nur Esirci for earning her PhD in Computer Engineering today! Her PhD Thesis is titled as SUPPRESSING VARIATIONS BY SPATIAL CORRELATIONS TO AVAIL DELAY-BASED HARDWARE TROJAN DETECTION.