IT Security Stack Exchange
IT Security Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [hardware]

For attacks against, or best practices for physical components of an Information Technology system. It can consist of network equipment, servers, CPUs, hardware security module, smartcards, etc. When using this tag, also include an additional tag for the specific type of hardware.

Other tags to include on the question to narrow the scope include

Servers

Network

For questions on the following topics, please use the appropriate tags instead of .

585 questions
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What are the risks of buying a used/refurbished computer? How can I mitigate those risks?

I bought a used computer that appears to be wiped clean, but can I be sure?
PBeezy
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How can a hacker disable the LED attached to a webcam without critically damaging the hardware?

Some webcams have an LED next to it which notifies the user it's working. Hackers are supposed to be able to disable this LED in order to spy their victims without their knowledge, but how can you disable a component, in this case a diode, without…
xvlaze
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13
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2 answers

USB to Firewire converter is a security issue?

FireWire has security issues. But what happens if there aren't any FireWire ports on the given machine, and the operating system doesn't support FireWire, like OpenBSD? I mean converters like: usb to firewire converter pcmcia to firewire…
newuser999
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5 answers

Securing the hardware of my computer against remote exploits

How can I secure the BIOS, video card, network card, PCI, etc. of the computer against remote exploit? I have heard that it is possible to remotely exploit a computer using vulnerabilities in these hardware devices, and that a compromise that occurs…
linux1
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5
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4 answers

Would you go with SSD or Disk Hard Drive?

I haven't really heard anything on how the Soild State Drives are doing out in the real world and I was wondering if they are better than traditional hard drives. Is a SSD more secure or less secure than the traditional hard drives.
moomonkey
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5
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4 answers

How do we know if the hard disk we just bought is "clean"?

When we buy a new hard disk drive, what steps can we take to ensure that it is virus-free? For example, there are many vendors selling hard disk drives on Amazon. When we purchase one, how do we know that it is free of virus? Disclaimer: I'm pretty…
Pacerier
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5
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2 answers

What aspects of hardware configuration are significant from a security perspective?

What is worth keeping in mind (security-wise) when choosing a set of hardware? For example, might a cheap (or obscure) setup like a Raspberry Pi make for a less secure server than a more standard machine? Or does the security of a server depend…
user6369
4
votes
2 answers

Secure one way radio communication

I was thinking about the feasibility of one way remote control using radio signals. The sending hardware would be bound to a computer and therefore have enough computing power, while the reciever would be a limited hardware device that have some…
WalyKu
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4
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How severe are the interestingly disclosed AMD flaws?

CTS disclosed several "flaws" in the AMD Ryzen architecture chips. These flaws are called Ryzenfall, Masterkey, Fallout and Chimera (https://amdflaws.com/). However several technology sites (for example Wired) and blogs raised questions as to the…
AstroDan
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3
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Hardware trojan besides network card?

We all can read news about "Hardware trojans" (it has grown in the recent few years..). But my question is: Besides the network card, could there be any HW trojan that can cause any real damage? If I would need to put a HW trojan in a…
evachristine
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2
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How to prepare a used computer to handle sensitive information

After buying a used computer from a stranger, what steps should be taken to ensure it is safe to use for connecting to a network that handles sensitive information? (I am defining "sensitive" broadly: notes to a loved one, corporate trade secrets,…
dark_pixel
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2
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2 answers

Long term HDD storage solution

I have some HDDs which are encrypted to what I think is a decent standard. I want to lock these away in a remote storage facility, but am a little worried about EMP/Magnetic stuff from wiping the HDDs. I will be backing up the HDDs, but wanted to…
oshirowanen
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2
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Is any company or group working on secure hardware architectures?

My impression is that mature Unix-like operating systems are less vulnerable to trojans that might be present, mainly because of well-debugged kernel code, including correct use of hardware memory protection. Is that correct? Is any company or…
Ralph Dratman
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Questions about A Monitor Darkly

In his presentation, A Monitor Darkly, Ang Cui demonstrates how to manipulate images on the monitor by getting the firmware to execute commands embedded in a pixel contained in an image being displayed. At first, he mentions that this is being done…
user942937
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Do video cards store any personal information? Should they be destroyed when getting rid of them?

I realize this question sounds a bit ridiculous but I figured it couldn't really hurt to ask. I am in the process of getting rid of some old computers of mine, and I know that I need to destroy the hard drives. With this in mind, I also need to get…
Ekp Bee
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