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Article #720The Next Pearl Harbor: We don't audit our chips
From: Christopher_C_Lapp
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 17:11
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 17:11
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I was at a cocktail party with a number of computer types who work clandestinely for foreign governments. We got on the topic of silicon compilers, and how one of these computer types invented a virus that would infect silicon compilers, and add extra circuitry to each IC developed with them. The circuitry was a AM transistor radio that when it received a signal of the proper duraton would cause the chip to fail. It seems to me a "Pearl Harbor" in the making, what with the number of Unix based silicon compilers on the market, and all of them hooked up to networks. I'd hate to see all that expensive military hardware fail because we don't audit our chips and chipmaking software for this sort of thing. Any comments? Chris
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!Christopher_C_Lapp From: Christopher_C_Lapp@cup.portal.com Newsgroups: sci.crypt Subject: The Next Pearl Harbor: We don't audit our chips Message-ID: <64066@cup.portal.com> Date: Sat, 15 Aug 92 10:11:28 PDT Organization: The Portal System (TM) Distribution: usa Lines: 12