3 ms·

Is it possible to image the HSM somehow?

• diafygi 11y ago
  Very very unlikely. Hardware security modules are designed with the explicit purpose to protect secrets, including from physical tampering.
  • beeboop 11y ago
    Why is it unlikely? It's perfectly plausible to emulate any sort of hardware. What sort of magic sauce does Apple have to make a piece of hardware that can't be replicated and modified?
    • ramchip 11y ago
      Here's an overview of several techniques used to defeat this: https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/Papers/SEv2-c16.pdf https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/Papers/SEv2-c16.pdf
    • superuser2 11y ago
      A replicated HSM doesn't contain the key that the data is encrypted with. You'd need to modify the HSM that has the right key in it. The point of an HSM is to fight you very, very hard on that front by dumping the key if it detects anything shady.
  • vox_mollis 11y ago
    And due to their black-box nature, they are very likely invisibly compromised by the five eyes. Every CEO of a major technology company, including those that manufacture HSMs, is well aware of the lessons taught by Joe Nacchio.