"Spotting Hacks Automatically, Before the Hackers Do"

Computer scientists at TU Kaiserslautern, Germany, together with researchers from Stanford University in California have led a team that developed a new approach to finding flaws in new chip designs prior to the chips being manufactured. The novel approach developed by researchers involves the use of an algorithm, called Unique Program Execution Checking (UPEC), a form of automated security verification. Through the use of UPEC, designers of the new chips will be alerted of potential flaws contained by the chips before they are produced on a large scale. This article continues to discuss the significance of Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, the need to find flaws in chips before hackers do, and the use of UPEC to discover potential covert channel vulnerabilities in future chip designs.

EurekAlert! reports "Spotting Hacks Automatically, Before the Hackers Do"