What is Secure boot?
A mechanism that verifies the digital signature of the next software at each boot stage and starts only authentic software, forming a chain of trust.
Field: Hardware Security
Secure boot in the explanations
In secure boot, immutable ROM code verifies the first bootloader's signature, that bootloader verifies the next stage or the OS kernel, and so on, forming a chain of trust.
Which describes secure boot?Left active in a product, an attacker can connect equipment to the board's pins and read out firmware, bypass secure boot or extract keys.
Why are debug ports such as JTAG disabled or placed behind …Defense in depth layers different kinds of protection, such as secure boot, memory protection, TEEs, encryption, side-channel countermeasures and physical tamper resistance, so that when one is breached the next layer still holds.
What is the idea of "defense in depth," emphasized in hardw…
Questions that mention Secure boot (7)
- Which describes secure boot?
- What is the most suitable thing placed inside the chip as the root of trust for secure boot?
- What is the advantage of using public-key cryptography to verify software signatures in secure boot?
- In devices with secure boot, why is an anti-rollback mechanism needed?
- What is the difference between secure boot and measured boot?
- Why are debug ports such as JTAG disabled or placed behind authentication in shipped products?
- What is the idea of "defense in depth," emphasized in hardware and software security?
Related terms
Bootloader Root of trust Measured boot Trusted Platform Module (TPM) JTAG Tamper resistance Anti-rollback protection Cold boot attack Constant-time implementation Counterfeit chip