German scientists have created unbreakable physical protection for the media



    Information security is becoming an increasingly important aspect every year. The state, companies, individuals - everyone wants to have a way to protect their data. But it is difficult to do this - even the most secure services sooner or later crack. German scientists set out to create an unbreakable data repository that could protect data both from conventional hacking methods and from those that are usually shown only in spy movies - X-rays, drilling using miniature drills and other interesting things.

    Experts from Germany have created not a digital, but a physical data storage , which erases information when there is even a weak sign of hacking. While there are almost no false positives, so the information is really in a safe place.

    The protection system is a hardware security module with a specialized coating that reacts in the event of an unauthorized intervention. The module shell responds to any external influence that significantly changes the state of the shell. If, for example, to drill it, even with a very thin drill, then the sensors will still record a change in a number of characteristics, and the data will be erased.

    Now it is difficult to say how popular this method can be, but the fact that it is reliable is for sure. Scientists from three different universities in Munich worked on the development of the carrier and its shell. Their solution cannot be called unique, since physical carriers of this kind are known, but what makes the development of the Germans special is the absence of battery and memory in the protection system.

    Typically, hardware systems capable of protecting information from external influences depend on battery life or internal memory. If the battery is completely discharged, the data will either be erased (if provided by the developer), or remain - in this case, the attacker can get it, because after a battery is discharged, this type of physical storage can no longer serve as protection. There are other problems. For example, when extreme conditions (low temperature) appear, such a carrier will simply lose protection, since the battery will “sit down” and all data will be erased automatically or remain unprotected.


    Two electrodes create a unique characteristic of electrical conductivity for just such a system.

    The system in question is called B-Trepid. There are no security keys, the outer shell structure is used instead. There are no batteries in such a system; instead, two cables are used, which are in contact with each other, producing a current (one must think that a bimetallic source is meant). The outer shell at the same time receives a static charge of electricity, and the system receives a unique "imprint". When it is activated, the user of the system may be calm - if something goes wrong, the data will be erased. If the “fingerprint” configuration is changed, the information is deleted.

    The sheath of the carrier consists of several layers, one of which includes a thin wire structure. If the distance between the wires changes by at least a fraction of a millimeter, the system’s digital signature changes and the data is erased. Any attempt to reach the carrier will erase the information.

    For hacking their devices, scientists have tried various methods, including cryptographic ones. Of course, the methods used by the most cautious, so that no one accused of a full-fledged theft. And everything turned out, however, already after one of the testers used a drill with a thickness of only 0.3 mm. And the system “paid attention” to the deviation from the norm, instantly making all the data on the media unreadable.

    By the way, it is impossible to fake or in any way reproduce the “print”. Actually, it cannot be stolen in any way, because it is not a digital key, but actually a certain configuration of the electromagnetic field.

    “We already have prototypes and a working concept,” says Saigle, the work leader. He also noted that his company “has prototypes and a prototype, even if it works at the stage of the proof-of-concept”. That is why Saigle argues that for a super-reliable envelope must be found and secure delivery.

    The development was presented at the IEEE International Symposium on Hardware Oriented Security and Trust event, which was held in Washington.

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