("Oops! Had the silly thing in reverse")---Optical injection attacks in through LED status indicators
share
It is possible to attack a computer remotely through the front panel LEDs. Following on previous results that showed information leakage at optical wavelengths, now it seems practicable to inject information into a system as well. It is shown to be definitely feasible under realistic conditions (by infosec standards) of target system compromise; experimental results suggest it further may be possible, through a slightly different mechanism, even under high security conditions that put extremely difficult constraints on the attacker. The problem is of recent origin; it could not have occurred before a confluence of unrelated technological developments made it possible. Arduino-type microcontrollers are involved; this is an Internet of Things (IoT) vulnerability. Unlike some previous findings, the vulnerability here is moderate---at present---because it takes the infosec form of a classical covert channel. However, the architecture of several popular families of microcontrollers suggests that a Rowhammer-like directed energy optical attack that requires no malware might be possible. Phase I experiments yielded surprising and encouraging results; a covert channel is definitely practicable without exotic hardware, bandwidth approaching a Mbit/s, and the majority of discrete LEDs tested were found to be reversible on GPIO pins. Phase II experiments, not yet funded, will try to open the door remotely.
READ FULL TEXT