Webinar: The Threat of Circuit-board Modification Attacks

Speaker:

Dr. Samuel H. Russ, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of South Alabama 

Abstract:

Nearly all computing systems are constructed using printed circuit boards (PCBs or PWBs).  By their nature, circuit boards can be surreptitiously altered with ease. Specifically, because it is difficult to tie a board in hand back to the design files from which it was created in a way that verifies integrity and authenticity, it is easy to add or alter circuit-board components.  These components would then be very difficult to detect and could represent a significant security threat.  This presentation describes the way such alterations can occur and discusses methods for mitigating the risk of such attacks. 

Speaker Bio:

Samuel H. Russ received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in 1991.  After working at a machine-vision startup company, he taught at Mississippi State University 1994-1999.  He worked at Scientific-Atlanta 2000-2007 where he developed groundbreaking home networking technology, managed a project that won an Engineering and Technology Emmy Award, and authored 29 US Patents. He has been at the University of South Alabama since 2007, where he conducts research on embedded systems.  He was recently a participant in a research team that developed 4 circuit boards as part of a complete working satellite.  He has authored a textbook on the subject of Signal Integrity, and the second edition of the book includes materials on circuit-board cybersecurity.