Researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi said they have created an 'unhackable' chip to shore up the defences of computer hardware, in an age of increasing threats to individuals and companies across the globe.
This is the first working prototype of a chip that has security features or locks implemented as part of its hardware design, protecting it from hardware-level - rather than software - threats.
Ozgur Sinanoglu, NYUAD’s associate dean of engineering for academic affairs and head of the university’s Design for Excellence lab, has previously said malicious computer components - so-called Trojans - could be physically installed in factories or manufacturing labs. This would allow those behind the plan unfettered access to devices.
The chip has a secret key that makes it virtually impossible to access and would only function for authorised users.
“Without the secret key, the chips cannot be made functional,” he said.
“The functionality of chip - what it does, how it does it - can only be known if the secret key is known.”
A patent application has been filed at the US Patent Office. The researchers are creating a web-based platform to make information about the chip available to the public.
An extensive research paper by NYUAD’s Design for Excellence team will be presented in November at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security in the US.
“These are all theoretically proven points and we will present this at a top cyber security conference, but we need to test our claims practically as well," said Mr Sinanoglu.
"We will create a web-based platform to make all information about this chip available to public. We will ask researchers to act as hackers and retrieve the secret key of our chip or reveal the exact functionality of our chip design based on this information."
There has been growing concern about cyber security and calls for solutions to secure systems from hackers following the WannaCry ransomware attack.
WannaCry infected files, shut down hospitals, banks, transport systems and industry and affected more than 150 countries in May.
Although that virus was largely spread by individuals and company employees opening scam email attachments, Mr Sinanoglu said the technology used in the hardware chips could be extended to provide protection against threats such as WannaCry.
“Ours is rather a solution for hardware-level threats, at least the way it is implemented currently.
“One challenge is to raise awareness for hardware-level threats. Chip design companies are slowly becoming aware. Another challenge is to extend our solution to not only protect from hardware-level threats but also provide protection against system-level threats such as WannaCry.”
The new development could be used on any digital chip so would work in electronic chips across all industries.
“We can expect earlier adoption in certain industries that are more security-critical," he said.
"One such example is defence applications. We expect the hardware-level threats to be more pressing in the near future, necessitating most industries to adopt solutions such as ours."
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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