Computing: Harmful chips hidden on circuit boards revealed by their power use

Careful observation of the power consumption of a circuit board can reveal telltale signs that an attacker has tampered with it and installed a malicious device designed to steal sensitive information or cause crashes, say researchers

By Matthew Sparkes

Manufacturers often design printed circuit boards for their products but lack manufacturing capability, so they outsource production. Experts warn that these factories are a point of vulnerability where an attacker could insert malicious features, known as Trojan attacks. Such attacks could steal sensitive data or crash a device when triggered.

Only one Trojan attack has ever been reported in the wild, detailed in a Bloomberg article in 2018, but later denied by all companies mentioned. Theodore Markettos at the University of Cambridge says that no firm evidence …