this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2024
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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.

https://youtu.be/PeKW0stTThk

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[–] ThrowawaySobriquet 84 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Posit: Self-destructing chips to protect infosec and enforce digital sovereignty

Practice: Self-destructing chips to protect copyright and enforce EULA

[–] SlopppyEngineer 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

HP is probably first. Don't pay the subscription for their printing service, self destruct printer and inkt cartridges.

[–] CaptPretentious 9 points 8 months ago

Roku seems like a good contender too from the sound of it. Probably all 'smart' TVs

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

This is exactly what it would be used for.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

Your next Xbox is going to have "military grade hardware built in".

[–] [email protected] 38 points 8 months ago (1 children)

“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.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

If these aren't too costly to implement and game consoles continue to use specialized hardware, this could be used to seriously hamper attempts at reverse engineering for modchips and similar things.

It also could be disasterous for right to repair, and against hobbists keeping old hardware running by using third party modifications decades after the end of a product's life.

I'd also question how much of chip design "piracy" is actually done by reverse engineering nowadays vs corporate espionage or leaks of internal design docs.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Reverse engineering of hardware is quickly becoming too complex for non-machine-assisted workflows. I’d imagine this type of destructive chip really only makes sense cryptology modules, but unless a designer can also manufacture the chip in-house or otherwise guarantee against supply chain attacks, this is a half measure.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 8 months ago

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

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

sounds like it closes a data theft vector but opens one hell of a ~~ddos~~ DoS vector in its place.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

[–] Treczoks 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

There are already self destructing harddisks. They are used in military systems and have a thermite package.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

what is this, that tanks game forum

[–] agitatedpotato 2 points 8 months ago

No way to prevent this, says only forum where this regularly happens.

[–] cholesterol 3 points 8 months ago

Now that there is an old Dell Inspiron. I had one with that shell ca. 2006.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

I think this wasn't new and there were such things for military use already?..

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

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