Researchers presented new techniques to fight sophisticated hacking at a tech conference. Here are the highlights:
Self-destruct chips:
- A team from Vermont and Marvell created chips with unique fingerprints that can destroy themselves (through increased voltage) if tampered with. This prevents both counterfeiting and unauthorized access to information.
- Probe detection: Columbia and Intel researchers developed a circuit that detects probes attached to a circuit board, preventing hackers from gaining physical control of a system.
- Signal Obscuring: Researchers from Texas and Intel created a method to hide a chip’s power and electromagnetic signals, making it harder for attackers to steal information.
These innovations could improve chip security and save businesses billions from chip counterfeiting.
Comments
NGL. After I saw “Self-destruct chips”, I was just overwhelmed by Mission Impossible theme song.
Posit: Self-destructing chips to protect infosec and enforce digital sovereignty
Practice: Self-destructing chips to protect copyright and enforce EULA
HP is probably first. Don’t pay the subscription for their printing service, self destruct printer and inkt cartridges.
Roku seems like a good contender too from the sound of it. Probably all ‘smart’ TVs
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Your next Xbox is going to have “military grade hardware built in”.
This is exactly what it would be used for.
“Billions lost to counterfeit chips” yeah all those garage fabs cranking out fake 4090s are the REAL problem in the market
This will be used for enforcing subscriptions on enterprise gear, I promise.
Sooo, efuses?
If this is implemented it is only a matter of time before it is used by hackers to hold the hardware of a company/government hostage with new ransomwares
Removed by mod
sounds like it closes a data theft vector but opens one hell of a
ddosDoS vector in its place.Of a permanent DoS, like frying a chip remotely. Things which were urban legends in my childhood are being made reality.
I don’t think greed’s the problem, it’s necessary for survival of a society. But like many other necessary things it should be contained, and right now it really isn’t.
Still, having this option can’t be a bad thing. Ultimately it’s an engineer (or PM I suppose) that decides to use this chip based on the product requirements.
Sometimes you want to fail closed, or purposefully fail catastrophically if some constraints aren’t met.
There are already self destructing harddisks. They are used in military systems and have a thermite package.
what is this, that tanks game forum
Now that there is an old Dell Inspiron. I had one with that shell ca. 2006.
I think this wasn’t new and there were such things for military use already?..
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