Talk Title:

Taming Hydrofluoric Acid to Extract Firmware

Abstract:

Modern mask ROMs hold low level firmware physically embedded into microprocessors. Although it's possible to extract firmware via chemical processes, extraction is traditionally so labor intensive and hazardous that it's only warranted for crucial samples. Fortunately with a little engineering I was able to automate the process. In this talk I describe how I built the machine and the research it enabled.

Speaker Bio:

John McMaster is hardware reverse engineer with a decade of embedded security expertise. He specializes in microcontroller data extraction using lasers, microscopes, and power analysis. Twitter: @johndmcmaster