2 ms·

my bad - misread

gruez 4y ago
>and if you are not going to trust microcode, what else are you not going to trust - logic gates, transistors, electrons? The article is unequivocally pro microcode. The title is him replying to people who don't trust microcode, so it's a rebuttal.
- zabzonk 4y ago
  ok, i misread, will delete my comment - except i can't
DethNinja 4y ago
There are good reasons to not trust microcode. For example, a certain instruction chain can be made to trigger backdoors on the CPU and allow direct memory access for attackers. Catching this might be rather hard, though definitely not impossible.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  Same applies to CPUs without microcode due to hardware design bugs.
  - temptemptemp111 4y ago
    [dead]
noorkersz 4y ago
we will distrust that which we cannot inspect. if we cannot inspect the content of the microcode updates in the context of the architecture's schematics then it won't be trusted
- gruez 4y ago
  That's already a lost cause considering how hard it is to inspect the die (ie. the physical transistors) itself.
  - User23 4y ago
    It looks like a used SEM can be had for the highish five figures on eBay. Someone who was good at YouTube and other social media could probably justify the expense. Of course there could be unintended consequences of having viral videos showing hardware backdoors in popular electronic devices.
    - gruez 4y ago
      >It looks like a used SEM can be had for the highish five figures on eBay What's the resolution on those like? Also, keep in mind that there's a lot more work to physically inspecting the CPU than just buying a SEM off ebay. You'd also need chemicals/equipment to etch through the different layers, as well the expertise to pull everything off.
      - User23 4y ago
        Absolutely. And it's not as if the work of popularizing and profiting from that equipment and expertise is trivial either. Nevertheless, I reckon there's an opportunity there.
NoToP 4y ago
Electrons are a ponzi scheme. The more you look into it the more it's all empty space.

my bad - misread

>and if you are not going to trust microcode, what else are you not going to trust - logic gates, transistors, electrons? The article is unequivocally pro microcode. The title is him replying to people who don't trust microcode, so it's a rebuttal.

zabzonk 4y ago
ok, i misread, will delete my comment - except i can't

DethNinja 4y ago

There are good reasons to not trust microcode. For example, a certain instruction chain can be made to trigger backdoors on the CPU and allow direct memory access for attackers. Catching this might be rather hard, though definitely not impossible.

pjmlp 4y ago
Same applies to CPUs without microcode due to hardware design bugs.
- temptemptemp111 4y ago
  [dead]

noorkersz 4y ago

we will distrust that which we cannot inspect. if we cannot inspect the content of the microcode updates in the context of the architecture's schematics then it won't be trusted

gruez 4y ago
That's already a lost cause considering how hard it is to inspect the die (ie. the physical transistors) itself.
- User23 4y ago
  It looks like a used SEM can be had for the highish five figures on eBay. Someone who was good at YouTube and other social media could probably justify the expense. Of course there could be unintended consequences of having viral videos showing hardware backdoors in popular electronic devices.
  - gruez 4y ago
    >It looks like a used SEM can be had for the highish five figures on eBay What's the resolution on those like? Also, keep in mind that there's a lot more work to physically inspecting the CPU than just buying a SEM off ebay. You'd also need chemicals/equipment to etch through the different layers, as well the expertise to pull everything off.
    - User23 4y ago
      Absolutely. And it's not as if the work of popularizing and profiting from that equipment and expertise is trivial either. Nevertheless, I reckon there's an opportunity there.

NoToP 4y ago

Electrons are a ponzi scheme. The more you look into it the more it's all empty space.