Presentation on “interesting” features of the Intel x86[_64] platform (as given at 44CON 2017).
A lot of recent work has gone into the discovery, analysis, and (on occasion) marketing of hardware weaknesses in the Intel x86[_64] platform particularly with respect to how it is often implemented as part of specific motherboard designs. Some, such as the recent speculative execution borne attacks, are issues in the architecture itself. Other issues, however, affect individual implementations. This talk will take a wide-coverage “state of play” look at x86[_64] platform security covering:
- Architectural failings in hardware design
- Identifying security issues with modern computer hardware (treat it just like IoT devices!)
- Attempts at restoring privacy, ownership, and security
- Code and data persistence
- How secure hardware can be re-used
