Secure content distribution system based on run-time partial hardware reconfiguration

A secure content distribution system is prototyped based on run time partial reconfigurability of an FPGA. The system provides a robust content protection scheme for online con tent download services. The key idea is to divide the security module in a user terminal into ontent Specific ircuit (S) and Terminal uild in ircuit (T) and to dynamically reconfigure S. S is customi ed for each content and transferred from a server in the form of encrypted con figuration data. T is a uniquely identifiable processing unit that is combined with particular S to decrypt and de code contents. A content is properly decrypted and played by the security module only if its S is interlocked with the authori ed T To reali e this S T interlock authen tication mechanism, partial reconfigurability of the FPGA is essential. This paper discusses the robustness and feasibility of the content distribution system through a proof of concept demonstration.