Obfuscation is a promising solution for securing hardware intellectual property (IP) against various attacks, such as reverse engineering, piracy, and tampering. Due to the lack of standard benchmarks, proposed techniques by researchers and practitioners in the community are evaluated by existing benchmark suites such as ISCAS-85, ISCAS-89, and ITC-99. These open source benchmarks, though widely utilized, are not necessarily suitable for the purpose of evaluating hardware obfuscation techniques. In this context, we believe that it is important to establish a set of well-defined benchmarks, on which the effectiveness of new and existing obfuscation techniques and attacks on them can be compared. In this paper, we describe a set of such benchmarks obfuscated with some popular methods that we created to facilitate this need. These benchmarks have been made publicly available on Trust-Hub web portal. Moreover, we provide the first evaluation of several obfuscation approaches based on the metrics and existing attacks using this new suite. Finally, we discuss our observations and guidance for future work in hardware obfuscation and benchmarking. Keywords Hardware obfuscation • Benchmark development • Benchmark testing • Hardware security 1 Introduction With the rising costs of chip fabrication at advanced technology nodes and ever-increasing design complexity, today's semiconductor industry has shifted to a predominantly fabless business model. In this model, a design house typically sources pre-designed and pre-verified hardware IPs from different sources including third party IP (3PIP) vendors, integrates them into a system-on-chip (SoC), and ships the

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In the era of globalized Integrated Circuit (IC) design and manufacturing flow, a rising issue to the silicon industry is various attacks on hardware intellectual property (IP). As a measure to ensure security along the supply chain against IP piracy, tampering and reverse engineering, hardware obfuscation is considered a reliable defense mechanism. Sequential and combinational obfuscations are the primary classes of obfuscation, and multiple methods have been proposed in each type in recent years. This paper presents an overview of obfuscation techniques and a qualitative comparison of the two major types.

Industrialization is indispensable for socio-economic development but poses far-reaching implications for resources and the environment. Consequently, industrial symbiosis-based collaborations are gaining recognition as a viable strategy to manage resource consumption for mitigating environmental distress. However, these types of synergistic collaborations are more prevalent in developed regions and are linked to larger-sized industries. Admittedly, such collaborative partnerships are less focused in developing regions and small- to medium-size enterprises (SMEs). This calls for discovering the potentials for synergistic partnerships among the small and medium scaled industrial entities in developing economies. Therefore, the study was designed to identify, assess and explore the prospects of symbiotic collaborations among SMEs in Pakistan. Moreover, the inputs are equally relevant for developing and expanding such productive associations in developing regions. Data regarding inputs and outputs was collected from sixty-one (61) SMEs through field survey during the year 2019. It was processed and analyzed to uncover existing and potential synergies among SMEs. The significant findings transpired that the majority of collaborative linkages are bilateral and are driven to maximize economic gains. However, informal networks of recyclers and absence of a stringent regulatory regime are the ground realities in developing/transforming economies. These factors symptomatically interfere with the process of formal/informal exchanges between and among firms. Furthermore, it was observed that the lack of awareness and impulsiveness of SMEs, as well as the inconsistent supply of by-products, act as barriers for such partnerships in developing countries. It calls for proactive engagements and facilitations from the state institutions through policy instruments. The study addresses a broad audience including industrialists, investors, policy makers and researchers engaged in IS studies. Moreover, the inputs will provide impetus for stimulating eco-industrial progress in developing regions such as Pakistan.

Rapid urbanization in Pakistan is triggering regulated and unregulated land cover changes in planned and semiplanned urban areas. The key objective of this study is to assess the spatial–temporal fluctuations in the land use/land cover (LULC) transformations in planned (Islamabad) and semiplanned (Rawalpindi) urban areas over the last forty years (1976–2016). The study focuses on the orientation of LULC modifications and analyzes concomitant impacts on urban environmental sustainability. Therefore, remotely sensed data were retrieved and processed through Google Earth Engine (GEE) by applying supervised classifier algorithms on each of the five chosen Landsat images. The trajectory of LULC changes for each of the four periods 1976–1988, 1988–1995, 1995–2006 and 2006–2016 was critically scrutinized. The observations revealed massive physical expansions and LULC convergences during these timeframes. The proportionate share of built-up surfaces in this contextual setting substantially stretched from 0.83% in 1976 to 23.23% in 2016, while the shares of cropland and shrubberies significantly reduced. The orientation and magnitude of such changes were observed asymmetrically in the adjoining urban settlements. The assessments formulate that availability of land for urban growth, urban planning and regulatory control significantly determines the speed, scale and orientation of urbanization in planned and semiplanned areas. The study substantiates the notions that the efficient use of cost-effective remotely sensed data offers a pragmatic and reliable tool for assessing, evaluating and monitoring urban land resources. The inferences and insights are relevant for urban and regional planners as well as for other scientific communities.

An attempt has been made to compare the salient characteristics of LULC transformations in planned (Faisalabad) and quasi-planned (Jhang) urban settlements of Pakistan. The Landsat-5 TM, Landsat 7 EMT+ and Landsat-8 images of 1989, 1999, 2009 and 2019, respectively, were retrieved and processed through google earth engine. The dynamics of LULC critically analyzed for the three periods 1989–1999, 1999–2009 and 2009–2019. The LULC analyzed in terms of quantity of change, gains, losses, and persistence of the study area examined carefully. The study mainly focuses on the LULC transformations of the previous 30 years (1989–2019). These 30 years witnessed massive physical expansions and LULC convergences. During this time interval, the built-up areas in these cities expanded, and productive agricultural land substantially squeezed. The spatialtemporal analysis of LULC changes calls for improvised strategies for the resilience of land and environmental resources. The direct beneficiaries of this research are resource managers and regional planners as well as others scientific community.

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