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Cyphernomicon 14.9

Other Advanced Crypto Applications:
'What are tamper-responding or tamper-resistant modules?"


   14.9.1. The more modern name for what used to be called "tamper-proof
            boxes"
   14.9.2. Uses:
           - alarmed display cases, pressure-sensitive, etc. (jewels,
              art, etc.)
           + chips with extra layers, fuses, abrasive comounds in the
              packaging
             - to slow down grinding, etching, other depotting or
                decapping methods
             - VLSI Technology Inc. reportedly uses these methods in its
                implementation of the MYK-78 "Clipper" (EES) chip
           - nuclear weapons ("Permissive Action Links," a la Sandia,
              Simmons)
           - smartcards that give evidence of tampering, or that become
              inactive
           + as an example, disk drives that erase data when plug is
              pulled, unless proper code is first entered
             - whew! pretty risky (power failures and all), but needed
                by some
             - like "digital flash paper"
   14.9.3. Bypassing tamper-responding or tamper-resistant technologies
           - first, you have to _know_


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