• Automotive
• Ethernet
• IEEE 802.1AE
• MACsec
• Security
• UVM
• Verification

The constant growth of automotive network complexity has led top line models including more than 100 Electronic Control Units (ECUs). As a result, in-car networks are rapidly reaching their limits in terms of data load, flexibility and bandwidth. The Ethernet backbone is consequently considered as the best solution from the automotive world because it provides a common network topology, easy integration with other subdomains, excellent performance and high flexibility.
On the other hand, the increasing interconnection of vehicles with the outside world expands the attack surface providing multiple attack points, either internal or external, that could be exploited to interact maliciously with the car. The IEEE 802.1AE MAC Security Standard (MACsec) solves security weakness of Ethernet communication offering data integrity, authenticity and confidentiality. Therefore an Intellectual Property (IP) for automotive application compliant with the before mentioned standard appears to be a suitable solution.
Security countermeasures, besides guaranteeing the car against attacks, should not impact on vehicle normal operation because of unexpected behaviour. Indeed, since the vast majority of automotive applications is classified as safety-critical, even a single bug could endanger not only cars but also passengers’ lives. Hence, a thorough functional verification is essential in order to provide a device together safe and secure.
In this work a deep analysis of functional verification for MACsec compliant IP has been carried out, multiple verification approaches and techniques have been investigates in order to identify the most suitable for the specific case. This study, considering requirements of re-usability, flexibility and high performance, led to the implementation of a UVM-based verification platform together with the MACsec IP behavioural model required in such a verification environment.
The testbench has been deployed to intensively test the IP – more than 10 millions tests have been executed. Verification results depict that several bugs, either concerning functionality or security, have been discovered achieving 100% verification coverage. Moreover, performance wise, the testbench has proven to be up to ten times faster than the one already in place during the design phase.
Flexibility, re-usability and high performance of the implemented platform has made the verification process much faster and easier. Moreover, for the same reasons, the testbench has been adopted by other teams in similar verification projects.