Protection for sensitive systems

Our world is increasingly dependent on IT systems – but that also makes everyday technology and critical infrastructure vulnerable. Attackers can use vulnerabilities in firmware or even the hardware itself to gain access to data. IT researchers at the Ruhr University Bochum are developing new methods to protect sensitive technology from such attacks.

Whether it’s smart light bulbs, intelligent thermostats or the control software for industrial plants and other critical infrastructure: computers have long been located where we hardly notice them. But checking the firmware of such embedded systems for vulnerabilities and possible access for hackers has so far been difficult. The same applies to the protection of sensitive systems, such as card readers, against hardware manipulation, because hackers can also access data through them. It is precisely at these points that the work of IT researchers at the Ruhr University Bochum starts.