"IT Security: When the Hardware Traps Criminals"

Paul Staat and Johannes Tobisch, Ph.D. students at RUB, are developing methods for protecting hardware against manipulation. Technical systems must be safeguarded not only from remote cyberattacks, but also from hardware modification. They are working on a technology capable of monitoring entire systems for manipulation inexpensively. Radio waves are used for this purpose. In the monitored system, they install two antennas (i.e., a transmitter and a receiver). The transmitter emits a special radio signal that spreads throughout the system and is reflected by the walls and computer components. All of these reflections result in a signal to the receiver that is as unique to the system as a fingerprint. This article continues to discuss the concept, development, testing, and potential application of the researchers' new technology aimed at monitoring entire systems for manipulation using radio waves. 

RUB reports "IT Security: When the Hardware Traps Criminals"