´Έρχονται έξυπνα Chip: Με τις αναφορές για τον μαζικό σχεδιασμό και κατασκευή chip που αφήνουν εσκεμμένα (ή και μη εσκαμμένα) backdoors για τις υπηρεσίες πληροφοριών, μεγάλες επιχειρήσεις αλλά και σημαντικοί ιδιώτες θα μπορούσαν να κινδυνεύουν από την χρήση κάποιου chip που ενώ δείχνει αβλαβές, μπορεί να επιτρέψει σε hackers να σαμποτάρουν Appliances used in healthcare, public and financial infrastructure, military or government electronic devices.
Mr. Siddharth Garg, who is Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Tandon School of Engineering) at University of New York, and colleagues researchers develop a unique solution: a chip that contains a built-in module that will prove that its calculations are correct and another external module that will validate the proofs of the first module.
So software viruses are easy to detect and fix with downloadable patches, if they are intentionally placed, they are invisible and act covertly. For example, a hidden backdoor function could allow hackers to modify or take over a device or system at a specific time. The Garg system has a new approach called "verifiable computing" or "verifiable computing" (VC). The new feature keeps tabs on the performance of a chip and can detect signs of a possible Trojan.
The ability to control the components we put into our computers has become vital in an age of distrust. Nowadays when a company designs and wants to build new hardware, the cost production it is now so large that plans are sent to offshore construction companies, and safety cannot always be guaranteed.
The system proposed by Garg and his colleagues has a verification processor that can be built separately from the chip. "It uses an external control unit from a trusted manufacturer, which means that even if the rest of the chip is manufactured by an unreliable manufacturer, there will be a module that can show proof of correctness," Garg said.
So the company designing the chips can turn to a reputable manufacturing company to build a separate, less complex unit: an ASIC (specific application ολοκληρωμένου κυκλώματος ή application-specific integrated circuit), του οποίου η μοναδική δουλειά θα είναι να επικυρώσει τις αποδείξεις ορθότητας που δημιουργούνται από το εσωτερικό module ενός μη αξιόπιστου chiρ.
Garg said that this setting provides a safety net to the end user's chip.
"According to the current system, I can get a chir that has a built-in Trojan. "He may not show up during the first test," Garg said. "But later he could start misbehaving."
