COMPROMISED HARDWARE: AN IMPORTANT THREAT TO BE ADDRESSED BY INTELLIGENCE SERVICES

Abstract

Issues related to cybersecurity are complex and sophisticated, and are constantly changing. In recent years, researchers have been demonstrating the possibility of malicious codes being inserted into integrated circuits (chips) during the fabrication of these devices. The threat, known as hardware Trojan, has been drawing the attention of governments and industry since it potentially involves espionage and cyber warfare issues. The problem is getting worse with the supply chain globalization, since the chips are often manufactured in factories outside the boundaries of the national territories, which implies a loss of control over the process steps. This article aims at warning about the existence of the threat of hardware Trojan and to discuss the relevance of the topic to the intelligence service, starting from a brief review of literature on the subject, in which it was used, from the methodological point of view, the meta-analytic approach. The potential of hardware Trojan is a concern, with actions that include data leakage, espionage, denial of service attacks, system disruption, sabotage, and so on. It is, therefore, an issue that needs to be addressed and managed within the government, and in particular the intelligence services.