Special Issue on Open Hardware for Embedded System Security and Cryptography

Sharing hardware designs, from descriptions to manufacturing files, is gaining momentum in academia and industry, with the first open silicon security chip becoming commercially available in 2025. Secure embedded open hardware aims to provide industry-level building blocks that meet high-quality standards for code, documentation, design, testing, and verification enabling final fabrication and security certification. Despite the increasing popularity and benefits of secure embedded open hardware, some challenges need to be addressed to achieve the goal of fabricating and certifying secure open hardware. These challenges include developing secure open hardware building blocks that meet high-quality standards, establishing automated and efficient security testing and verification methods, and ensuring the availability of tools and processes that support the secure integration of hardware building blocks into larger and more complex embedded systems.