Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Vulnerabilities in chips in 37% of smartphones

blog.checkpoint.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 63 posts

Re: Vulnerabilities in chips in 37% of smartphones

#11

Post by evolvevia »

melony wrote: post #4
1cvmask wrote: post #3

There are so many attack vectors now on phones ranging from the SIM Card (which has an OS as well) to all the baseband chips to the actual OS and the different app privileges (like the old SMS listening port). What's interesting to me about the Taiwanese tech industry is their nimbleness and how MediaTek pivoted from a primarily DVD chip maker to dumb phone chip provider running on Pluto OS to now a smartphone chipma…

They are good and reliable, but they are not cutting age. The Toyota to M1's Ferrari. There is no point for Intel to acquire them when right now what Intel needs above all is tech and manufacturing advancements.

MediaTek's latest D9000 is pretty cutting edge.

https://www.phonearena.com/news/world-first-tsmc-4nm-chipset...

Should also be more affordable than the Qualcomm equivalent.

Re: Vulnerabilities in chips in 37% of smartphones

#12

Post by seniorivn »

mschuster91 wrote: post #5
melony wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are good and reliable, but they are not cutting age. The Toyota to M1's Ferrari. There is no point for Intel to acquire them when right now what Intel needs above all is tech and manufacturing advancements.

> what Intel needs above all is tech and manufacturing advancements. Intel needs a reliable door into the phone industry. Currently they don't have anything to offer and people will think twice before choosing Intel chipsets if it's not sure Intel will even stay in the market. Acquiring MediaTek would bypass that.

they are most certainly capable to license arm standart cores and make an soc themselves, they made a decision that they will not do that. why would they buy someone who does not so well?

Re: Vulnerabilities in chips in 37% of smartphones

#13

Post by tuatoru »

mschuster91 wrote: post #5
melony wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are good and reliable, but they are not cutting age. The Toyota to M1's Ferrari. There is no point for Intel to acquire them when right now what Intel needs above all is tech and manufacturing advancements.

> what Intel needs above all is tech and manufacturing advancements. Intel needs a reliable door into the phone industry. Currently they don't have anything to offer and people will think twice before choosing Intel chipsets if it's not sure Intel will even stay in the market. Acquiring MediaTek would bypass that.

Could Intel acquire, and then leave them alone (not mess with success)?

Re: Vulnerabilities in chips in 37% of smartphones

#14

Post by nicce »

Somehow firmware updates should be enforced by consumers.

It doesn’t help, that there are so many different smartphone vendors, and the most of them are pursuiting only for sales. New chips are coming constantly, and old ones get forgotten, left unpatched.

Is the future of the smartphone market of secure phones only in the hands of big ones (Apple et al)?

Re: Vulnerabilities in chips in 37% of smartphones

#15

Post by mschuster91 »

seniorivn wrote: post #12
mschuster91 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> what Intel needs above all is tech and manufacturing advancements. Intel needs a reliable door into the phone industry. Currently they don't have anything to offer and people will think twice before choosing Intel chipsets if it's not sure Intel will even stay in the market. Acquiring MediaTek would bypass that.

they are most certainly capable to license arm standart cores and make an soc themselves, they made a decision that they will not do that. why would they buy someone who does not so well?

> why would they buy someone who does not so well?

IIRC, MediaTek is the largest SoC vendor by volume. Hardly the definition of "doing not so well".

Yes, the MediaTek quality is ... not exactly the greatest, I agree. But that is where Intel could shine... Intel would save the money to invest in starting in a green field, and provide MediaTek with a (desperately needed) injection of quality.

Re: Vulnerabilities in chips in 37% of smartphones

#16

Post by chasil »

danachow wrote: post #6
1cvmask wrote: post #3

There are so many attack vectors now on phones ranging from the SIM Card (which has an OS as well) to all the baseband chips to the actual OS and the different app privileges (like the old SMS listening port). What's interesting to me about the Taiwanese tech industry is their nimbleness and how MediaTek pivoted from a primarily DVD chip maker to dumb phone chip provider running on Pluto OS to now a smartphone chipma…

There are quite a few “Mediateks” - Intel never had any interest in them - and they willingly sold off just about every embedded asset they had. Maybe look into the history of StrongARM and xscale to start.

Mediatek was also strongly tied to ADUPS FOTA.

This is not an ARM environment designed for high security.

https://www.blackhat.com/docs/us-17/wednesday/us-17-Johnson-...

Re: Vulnerabilities in chips in 37% of smartphones

#17

Post by asianometry »

1cvmask wrote: post #3

There are so many attack vectors now on phones ranging from the SIM Card (which has an OS as well) to all the baseband chips to the actual OS and the different app privileges (like the old SMS listening port). What's interesting to me about the Taiwanese tech industry is their nimbleness and how MediaTek pivoted from a primarily DVD chip maker to dumb phone chip provider running on Pluto OS to now a smartphone chipma…

MediaTek is the local industry's largest fabless chip designer. I am not quite sure the Taiwanese government would allow it to be acquired.

Re: Vulnerabilities in chips in 37% of smartphones

#18

Post by Tagbert »

ginko wrote: post #9
melony wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are good and reliable, but they are not cutting age. The Toyota to M1's Ferrari. There is no point for Intel to acquire them when right now what Intel needs above all is tech and manufacturing advancements.

I’d much prefer Toyota’s sales to Ferrari’s.

The analogy does not stretch that far

Re: Vulnerabilities in chips in 37% of smartphones

#19

Post by Calamitous »

tuatoru wrote: post #13
mschuster91 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> what Intel needs above all is tech and manufacturing advancements. Intel needs a reliable door into the phone industry. Currently they don't have anything to offer and people will think twice before choosing Intel chipsets if it's not sure Intel will even stay in the market. Acquiring MediaTek would bypass that.

Could Intel acquire, and then leave them alone (not mess with success)?

Theoretically. But my experience with acquisitions is that "leave them alone" never ever happens.
Post reply on HN