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Eric Schmidt, the former Google chairman, told Reuters in a recent interview that high-end processors should have kill-switches. “Knowing where the chips go is

Eric Schmidt, the former Google chairman, told Reuters in a recent interview that high-end processors should have kill-switches. “Knowing where the chips go is probably a very good thing. You could for example, on every chip put in essentially a public private key pair, which authenticates it and allows it to work”. hxxps://www.reuters.com/technology/chip-challenge-keeping-western-semiconductors-out-russian-weapons-2022-04-01/ What he won’t tell is that this is already a reality, as I learned after having my air-gapped system and Pixel phone wiped remotely for researching “silent speech interfaces”. There is no security when silicon trojans are in all devices.

d110af5ccf 4y ago
> You could for example, on every chip put in essentially a public private key pair, which authenticates it and allows it to work intel SGX already involves a per-chip keypair with intel as the root of trust. it just isn't required to use the rest of the chip
ethbr0 4y ago
Did your airgapped systems get wiped remotely again, after the last time you posted about it 22 days ago? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32394353 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32394353 > Eric Schmidt, the former Google chairman, told Reuters in a recent interview that high-end processors should have kill-switches. “Knowing where the chips go is probably a very good thing. [...]
- twirlock 4y ago
- LeonTheremin 4y ago
  Not my air-gapped again, but my phone is indeed interfered with to dissuade me from posting. Thanks for the concern.
  - ethbr0 4y ago
    I'm going to put this nicely, so please take it in the constructive spirit intended -- serious claims require serious evidence to be believed. And a scattering of news articles or videos are not serious evidence. I truly believe you're very concerned about all the things you talk about, but if you want to convince people to also believe then there needs to be more from your side. And no, suggesting that people perform ptychographic x-ray laminography on their chips isn't a practical suggestion.
    - LeonTheremin 4y ago
      Fine with me. Evidence is better when people collect it themselves. If someone isn't willing to have their own air-gapped system, ask how they could bring about the same results that I found and carry experiments accepting the risks, they aren't properly looking for scientific knowledge and I am fine with them ignoring my claims. People with willingness and means can find me anyways.
throwawaylinux 4y ago
What was your air-gapped system, and what do you mean by wiped? How do you know it was due to this research of yours?
alliao 4y ago
vacuum gapped for the next try?
- rootw0rm 4y ago
  why stop there? I propose a FOOF gap
- LeonTheremin 4y ago
  Replacing the air with brine water (absorbs microwaves/radiation).
1MachineElf 4y ago
Perhaps Google had this in mind as they embarked on their Intel Management Engine workaround, dubbed "NERF": https://www.phoronix.com/news/Google-NERF-UEFI-Linux https://www.phoronix.com/news/Google-NERF-UEFI-Linux
Sabinus 4y ago
Your claims would be more believed if you would elaborate and answer people's questions.
- LeonTheremin 4y ago
  I reply as possible. Don't need or expect people to take my word for it, need people to actually investigate what actually is on our chips, whatever their motivation. Consider: "It's not technically hard to make a device that complies with the FCC that listens to nonpublic bands but then is quietly waiting for some activation trigger to listen to other bands," said Eduardo Rojas, who leads the radio spectrum lab at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. "Technically, it's feasible." To prove a device had clandestine capabilities, Rojas said, would require technical experts to strip down a device "to the semi-conductor level" and "reverse engineer the design." But, he said, it can be done. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/fbi-investigation-huawei-china-defense-department-communications-nuclear/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/fbi-investigation-hu... One way it can be done: Ptychographic X-ray Laminography; No trade secret or hardware trojan can hide! https://spectrum.ieee.org/chip-x-ray https://spectrum.ieee.org/chip-x-ray

d110af5ccf 4y ago

> You could for example, on every chip put in essentially a public private key pair, which authenticates it and allows it to work intel SGX already involves a per-chip keypair with intel as the root of trust. it just isn't required to use the rest of the chip

ethbr0 4y ago

Did your airgapped systems get wiped remotely again, after the last time you posted about it 22 days ago? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32394353 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32394353 > Eric Schmidt, the former Google chairman, told Reuters in a recent interview that high-end processors should have kill-switches. “Knowing where the chips go is probably a very good thing. [...]

twirlock 4y ago
LeonTheremin 4y ago
Not my air-gapped again, but my phone is indeed interfered with to dissuade me from posting. Thanks for the concern.
- ethbr0 4y ago
  I'm going to put this nicely, so please take it in the constructive spirit intended -- serious claims require serious evidence to be believed. And a scattering of news articles or videos are not serious evidence. I truly believe you're very concerned about all the things you talk about, but if you want to convince people to also believe then there needs to be more from your side. And no, suggesting that people perform ptychographic x-ray laminography on their chips isn't a practical suggestion.
  - LeonTheremin 4y ago
    Fine with me. Evidence is better when people collect it themselves. If someone isn't willing to have their own air-gapped system, ask how they could bring about the same results that I found and carry experiments accepting the risks, they aren't properly looking for scientific knowledge and I am fine with them ignoring my claims. People with willingness and means can find me anyways.

throwawaylinux 4y ago

What was your air-gapped system, and what do you mean by wiped? How do you know it was due to this research of yours?

alliao 4y ago

vacuum gapped for the next try?

rootw0rm 4y ago
why stop there? I propose a FOOF gap
LeonTheremin 4y ago
Replacing the air with brine water (absorbs microwaves/radiation).

1MachineElf 4y ago

Perhaps Google had this in mind as they embarked on their Intel Management Engine workaround, dubbed "NERF": https://www.phoronix.com/news/Google-NERF-UEFI-Linux https://www.phoronix.com/news/Google-NERF-UEFI-Linux

Sabinus 4y ago

Your claims would be more believed if you would elaborate and answer people's questions.

LeonTheremin 4y ago
I reply as possible. Don't need or expect people to take my word for it, need people to actually investigate what actually is on our chips, whatever their motivation. Consider: "It's not technically hard to make a device that complies with the FCC that listens to nonpublic bands but then is quietly waiting for some activation trigger to listen to other bands," said Eduardo Rojas, who leads the radio spectrum lab at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. "Technically, it's feasible." To prove a device had clandestine capabilities, Rojas said, would require technical experts to strip down a device "to the semi-conductor level" and "reverse engineer the design." But, he said, it can be done. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/fbi-investigation-huawei-china-defense-department-communications-nuclear/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/fbi-investigation-hu... One way it can be done: Ptychographic X-ray Laminography; No trade secret or hardware trojan can hide! https://spectrum.ieee.org/chip-x-ray https://spectrum.ieee.org/chip-x-ray