What we investigate.
A research programme on product trust chains, from the key at the factory, through the boot chain, to update verification. Systematic, across multiple products, using the same testing grid.
The questions we ask.
Single cases are anecdotes. Only repetition across multiple devices reveals patterns that affect entire product classes.
01 · How wide is the gap between promised and enforced protection?
Datasheets and certification documents promise secure boot and rollback protection. We measure on the device what is actually enforced, and whether the paperwork predicts reality at all.
02 · Do trust chain failures trace back to a small set of root causes?
Our hypothesis: failures are explained not by ignorance but by a small number of structural causes, in the board support package, in manufacturing, at supply chain interfaces. A taxonomy of root causes makes findings predictable and fixes plannable.
03 · How much testing does a defensible statement require?
From advisories to CRA evidence: we develop a testing grid that makes trust chain statements reproducible and practical, and we measure where its limits are.
Three principles.
Systematic, not anecdotal
The same checks on every device, the same methodology as in our assessments.
A real hardware lab
Flash dumps via SPI and JTAG, debug interfaces, side-channel and fault-injection equipment. On the device, not on the datasheet.
Coordinated disclosure
Manufacturers first: a 90-day process from first report. We only publish what is reproducible and coordinated.
Posts appear once the investigation is complete.
Research contributions appear here once the respective investigation is complete and coordinated with the manufacturer. Client reports are published exclusively with explicit approval. Ongoing findings appear in the Security Notes.