Embedded System:

Security and Threats

Meera Nair M

AM.EN.P2MCA030
What is an embedded system?

 An embedded system is some combination of computer hardware and

software, either fixed in capability or programmable, that is designed for a
specific function or for specific functions within a larger system.
 An embedded system can be defined as a special type of computer
system that performs some specific predefined programs which
is generally used within a larger scale of electrical or mechanical system
Is Embedded System Secure?

 security of embedded systems is often ignored during the design and

development period of the product, thus leaving many devices vulnerable
to attacks

 On the other hand, the implementation of security measures is not easy

due to the constraints on resources of this kind of system
ATTACKS ON EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

 Exhaustion Attack: Limited battery power in embedded systems makes

them vulnerable to attacks that drain this resource. Energy drainage can
be achieved by increasing the computational load, reducing sleep cycles,
or increasing the use of sensors or other peripherals.
 Data Tampering: The proximity of embedded systems to a potential
attacker create vulnerabilities to attacks where physical access to the
system is necessary. Examples are power analysis attacks or snooping
attacks on the system bus.
 Network intrusion (malware attack): Networked embedded systems are
vulnerable to the same type of remote exploits that are common for
workstations and servers. An example is a buffer overflow attacks.
 Information theft (privacy): Data stored on an embedded system is
vulnerable to unauthorized access since the embedded system may be
deployed in a hostile environment. Example of data that should be
protected are cryptographic keys or electronic currency on smart cards

 Side channel attacks: Side channel attacks are known for the ease with
which they can be implemented, and for their effectiveness in stealing
secret information from the device without leaving a trace. Adversaries
observe side channels such as power usage, processing time and
electromagnetic (EM) emissions while the chip is processing secure
transactions
COUNTER MEASURES TO AVOID ATTACKS

 Buffer overflows are probably the most common type of vulnerability

exploited by software attacks. To keep this type of problem from
happening regulating the accesses of various software components to
different portions of the system during different stages of execution is
recommended
 Data Encryption: Encryption is the process of scrambling/encrypting any
amount of data using a (secret) key so that only the recipient, who is
having access to the key, will be able to decrypt the data. The algorithm
used for the encryption can be any publicly available algorithm like DES,
3DES or AES or any algorithm proprietary to the device manufacturer.
 Data Tampering prevention can be done by using firewalls. Important files,
databases, programs and applications have to be locked down behind a
firewall in parallel with operating systems/platform security.
 To overcome side channel attack eliminate the relationship between the
leaked information and the secret data, that is, make the leaked
information unrelated, or rather uncorrelated, to the secret data, typically
through some form of randomization of the cipher text that transforms the
data in a way that can be undone after the cryptographic operation (e.g.,
decryption) is completed.
THANK YOU