A computer code is seen on displays in the office of Global Cyber Security Company Group-IB in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017.

A computer code is seen on displays in the office of Global Cyber Security Company Group-IB in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017. Pavel Golovkin/AP

Time to Get Serious about Hardware Cybersecurity

The Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities should be the kick in the pants that moves the US government past wishful thinking.

When we hear about a new cyber vulnerability, we often think of software bugs or poorly written code — serious problems to be sure, yet typically solved with an appropriate patch. But fixing hardware problems like the recently discovered vulnerabilities in chips made by Intel, ARM, AMD, and Qualcomm is generally far more expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive.

Eliminating the threat posed by the Meltdown and Spectre exploits, for example (and despite the reassurances being issued by major technology companies) will likely take more just a software patch. The fix will probably require some sort of hardware replacement in each of the millions of devices and systems that use these ubiquitous chips: laptops, smartphones, cloud servers, critical infrastructure control systems, weapons from missiles to fighter jets, other defense-related systems, and more.

This sort of thing is hardly unexpected. The enormous potential consequences of major hardware vulnerabilities, including the daunting and costly prospect of fixing them, have been the subject of literally dozens of studies. (Examples include reports produced by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the Air Force Studies Board, the Government Accountability Office, the Senate Armed Services Committee, the National Defense Industrial Association, and several think tanks, including the Potomac Institute.) These reports note that exploits may arise from inadvertently poor security design or from “the malicious insertion of defects or malware into microelectronics and embedded software, and from the exploitation of latent vulnerabilities in these systems,” as the Defense Science Board wrote in its 2017 “Cyber Supply Chain” report.

Yet U.S. policymakers, who have devoted billions of dollars in recent years to securing critical infrastructure and defense systems, have focused almost entirely on software. It is high time to expand such efforts to hardware security — and in particular, to develop a national strategy for acquiring secure hardware for our military and critical infrastructure needs. Such a strategy would include such steps as:

  1. Create a comprehensive hardware cyber initiative. Industry cannot solve these difficult security issues alone; they require government investment and information-sharing on threats to improve chip security, both for consumers and national security systems.
  2. Obtain secure and assured access to critical chips. We can’t replace bad chips with good ones if commercial sources are compromised. The government’s partnerships with industry are important, but it needs long-term capabilities to either buy or make every chip they need in a secure environment, from certified and trusted U.S. sources. The Defense Department’s Trusted Foundry and Trusted Supplier programs can meet this need, but they are not being fully utilized. The Defense Microelectronics Activity, which runs these programs, has not been fully funded to accomplish this mission.
  3. Prioritize hardware security research. We can’t fix old vulnerabilities without new tools. One such effort is DARPA’s new Electronics Resurgence Initiative; more are needed.

Proposals to fund a dedicated DoD capability to produce secure chips range from $250 million to $500 million — a security investment that is well worth the cost. (Compare it to the roughly $100 billion a year that the Pentagon spends annually on systems that depend on chips, including $3 billion to $5 billion on the chips themselves.)  The time to debate the risks or likelihood of hardware security threats is over. The U.S. government needs to take swift action.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.