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It sounds very interesting, for sure, but the announcement is a little thin on details. The OS is apparently based around a microkernel. Which sounds good, but
by krylon 10y ago
It sounds very interesting, for sure, but the announcement is a little thin on details. The OS is apparently based around a microkernel. Which sounds good, but AFAIK, microkernels are comparatively popular in the embedded space (think QNX, L4) - so that choice is not in itself revolutionary.
They mention signatures, and it kind of sounds as if the OS will refuse to execute any non-signed code. Again, sounds like a good idea in principle, but remember how Stuxnet came with - IIRC - two valid signatures created with stolen keys. It might be better than nothing, but to an attacker with sufficiently deep pockets, no quantum computers are needed.
Of course, those are just random thoughts popping into my head. I should wait for more details before passing judgment. A (verifiably?) secure OS for embedded and "IoT" devices would be very desirable, that much is certain.
- pawadu 10y agoL4 is popular in embedded space? Can you provide some examples?
- minipci1321 10y agoNot sure if the parent meant this specifically, but the commercial version of L4 was ported to ARM to host Android, and was then used in some commercial phones -- deployed in millions says Internet: http://linuxfr.org/nodes/88229/comments/1291183 http://linuxfr.org/nodes/88229/comments/1291183
- krylon 10y agoWikipedia says: "L4 is widely deployed. One variant, OKL4 from Open Kernel Labs, shipped in billions of mobile devices.", links to a press announcement: https://web.archive.org/web/20120211210405/http://www.ok-labs.com/releases/release/ok-labs-software-surpasses-milestone-of-1.5-billion-mobile-device-shipments https://web.archive.org/web/20120211210405/http://www.ok-lab... Okay, if I look more closely, OKL4 seems to be used as a hypervisor to host regular kernels. I am not sure how much that buys one, really, from a security point of view. Also, the same Wikipedia article states: "Apple mobile application processors beginning with the A7 contain a Secure Enclave coprocessor running an L4 operating system. This implies that L4 is now shipping on all iOS devices, the total shipment of which is estimated at 310 million for the year 2015."
- qznc 10y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L4_microkernel_family#Commercial_deployment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L4_microkernel_family#Commerci... > OKL4 shipments exceeded 1.5 billion in early 2012, mostly on Qualcomm wireless modem chips. Other deployments include automotive infotainment systems. > Apple mobile application processors beginning with the A7 contain a Secure Enclave coprocessor running an L4 operating system. This implies that L4 is now shipping on all iOS devices, the total shipment of which is estimated at 310 million for the year 2015.
- pawadu 10y agoSo we have 2-3 very niche deployments. Does it really make L4 popular in embedded systems? Also, OKL4, specially the version claimed to run on qualcomm is very different from the original L4 (I say claimed since multiple attempts to reverse engineer qualcomm baseband firmware showed no traces of OKL4) edit: if you think this is incorrect please provide a valid counterpoint. downvoting a post this way to hide its presence is not a valid response.
- rincebrain 10y agoYes, it was two valid signatures from two different stolen certs. The more terrifying crypto demo, IMO, was the Flame rootkit, which used a new MD5 collision to forge its signature bona fides.
- iancarroll 10y agoStuxnet was signed, but not by any governmental entity (the certificates were stolen from hardware vendors). There would be no reason for Kaspersky to trust third party certificates, so unless Kaspersky manages to insecurely store their private key(s), it's a very good measure. Of course, iOS has AMFI which is supposed to enforce code signing, but it doesn't always work...
- bronz 10y agoits thin on details but if you read it to the end he says there are more details about the os coming in a future post.