Hardware Security

Which best describes the problems addressed by hardware security?

  1. AProblems with PC casings breaking easily
  2. BProblems where, even with bug-free software, secrets leak or control is subverted through circuit properties or physical behavior
  3. CProblems with software license fees
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Answer: B. Problems where, even with bug-free software, secrets leak or control is subverted through circuit properties or physical behavior

Even when software is written correctly, secrets can leak or defenses can fail through speculative execution and caches added for performance, power and timing that vary with processing, malfunctions under abnormal voltage or temperature, or circuitry inserted during manufacturing. Hardware security deals with understanding the principles of these threats and countering them in circuit and system design.

  • A. It is not about casing strength.
  • B. Correct. It deals with threats rooted in circuits and physics.
  • C. It is not about fees.
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More Hardware Security questions

  1. Which describes a side-channel attack?
  2. Which correctly pairs the principle behind timing attacks with a typical countermeasure?
  3. What weakness lurks in the password comparison function above, and what is the fix?
  4. What is the main reason cache-based side-channel attacks work?
  5. What is the principle behind the speculative execution vulnerability known as Spectre?