Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The Mother Of All Trojan Horses

Security backdoor found in China-made US military chip

"Cambridge University researchers find that a microprocessor used by the US military but made in China contains secret remote access capability.

A microchip used by the US military and manufactured in China contains a secret "backdoor" that means it can be shut off or reprogrammed without the user knowing, according to researchers at Cambridge University's Computing Laboratory."

This isn't news. This has been known for years and I even linked to an article from 2008 last year:

"The geniuses at Homeland Security who brought you hare-brained procedures at airports (which inconvenience travelers without snagging terrorists) have decreed that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. This means The Investigator -- at the risk of compromising national insecurities -- would be remiss not to make you aware of the hottest topic in U.S. counterintelligence circles: rogue microchips. This threat emanates from China (PRC) -- and it is hugely significant.

The myth: Chinese intelligence services have concealed a microchip in every computer everywhere, programmed to "call home" if and when activated.

The reality: It may actually be true."

If the militaary is still using compromised chips after all this time, knowing full well the havoc they'd produce in conflict, then priorities are a bit different than they seem. My guess is that aafter installing hundreds of millions of them in everything from guided missiles to toasters, announcing a giant fuckup and trying to replace them would have been a colossal logistical, expensive and public relations nightmare. So apparently our Einsteins made the decision to go on a wing and a prayer and hoped nothing would happen that would expose the dangerous flaw.

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