Off-Topic :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Security Expert Discovers China Backdoor in US Military Chips
Posted by:
Rage
()
Date: January 02, 2013 02:11PM
Cambridge University researchers recently determined that a chip used by the U.S. military contains a backdoor which could enable the manufacturer to disable or reprogram the chip.
"The chip is used in many systems including weapons, nuclear power plants and public transport," writes HEXUS.net's Mark Tyson.
"The discovery has inevitably led to concerns over whether [manufacturer] Microsemi/Actel included the backdoor to give the Chinese control of U.S. military information infrastructure," writes Techworld's Sophie Curtis. "The report states that the discovery of a backdoor in a military-grade chip raises serious questions about hardware assurance in the semiconductor industry."
"The news comes at a time when Chinese cyber-spying threats are a particular concern," notes TNW's Jon Russell. "Chinese telecom manufacturers ZTE and Huawei are already under investigation from the US government, which is assessing whether the duo’s telecom businesses pose a national security threat."
"The saving grace of this alleged hack? It requires a saboteur to physically connect equipment to the chip and its system to initiate a reprogamming cycle," writes TG Daily's Shane McGlaun. "Although military and civilian infrastructure are often under heavy guard, a determined operative could likely breach security and access the chip in certain locations -- threatening mass transit systems and nuclear power plants."
"Microsemi has yet to respond to the report's findings," PC Pro reports.
"The chip is used in many systems including weapons, nuclear power plants and public transport," writes HEXUS.net's Mark Tyson.
"The discovery has inevitably led to concerns over whether [manufacturer] Microsemi/Actel included the backdoor to give the Chinese control of U.S. military information infrastructure," writes Techworld's Sophie Curtis. "The report states that the discovery of a backdoor in a military-grade chip raises serious questions about hardware assurance in the semiconductor industry."
"The news comes at a time when Chinese cyber-spying threats are a particular concern," notes TNW's Jon Russell. "Chinese telecom manufacturers ZTE and Huawei are already under investigation from the US government, which is assessing whether the duo’s telecom businesses pose a national security threat."
"The saving grace of this alleged hack? It requires a saboteur to physically connect equipment to the chip and its system to initiate a reprogamming cycle," writes TG Daily's Shane McGlaun. "Although military and civilian infrastructure are often under heavy guard, a determined operative could likely breach security and access the chip in certain locations -- threatening mass transit systems and nuclear power plants."
"Microsemi has yet to respond to the report's findings," PC Pro reports.
Re: Security Expert Discovers China Backdoor in US Military Chips
Posted by:
late for dinner much?
()
Date: January 02, 2013 02:23PM
Good job on reposting 6 month old news!
Re: Security Expert Discovers China Backdoor in US Military Chips
Posted by:
later
()
Date: January 02, 2013 02:25PM
7 months old...sorry...
Re: Security Expert Discovers China Backdoor in US Military Chips
Posted by:
Ralph Pootawn
()
Date: January 02, 2013 02:37PM
Why buy chips made in China to begin with? Bad move and they should have expected it.
Re: Security Expert Discovers China Backdoor in US Military Chips
Posted by:
Maxtor 4 Me
()
Date: January 02, 2013 02:42PM
They also supply disk controller chips which allow them to steal data.
Re: Security Expert Discovers China Backdoor in US Military Chips
Posted by:
Genevieve
()
Date: January 02, 2013 03:03PM
Ralph Pootawn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why buy chips made in China to begin with? Bad
> move and they should have expected it.
We design chips; China makes them (mostly to specification). I wonder what the cost delta would be to manufacture them in the US.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why buy chips made in China to begin with? Bad
> move and they should have expected it.
We design chips; China makes them (mostly to specification). I wonder what the cost delta would be to manufacture them in the US.
Re: Security Expert Discovers China Backdoor in US Military Chips
Posted by:
Max Zorn
()
Date: January 02, 2013 03:23PM
I have a plan to corner the world market in microchips.