Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had a similar reaction to this. I don't see what the use is in ensuring the hardware is running software from "trustworthy" persons, especially when the device's owner is not usually considered to be part of that group. This feels like something we aught to question, why is it acceptable that even after buying some electronic device there's a part of it that the owner isn't allowed to touch? Embedded devices are ju…
I agree with you for devices where the user should be considered 'trusted' - I like to tinker too. But I think there are use-cases where this is legitimate, for example, ticket readers mounted on public transport where anyone could tamper with them out-of-hours, or a utility meter installed in my house where I might want to change the way it records consumption to get out of paying. Likewise, a payment terminal takin…
The owner of the ticket reader is the public transport authority.
>a utility meter installed in my house where I might want to change the way it records consumption to get out of paying
The owner of the utility meter is typically the company providing the utility.
In both of these cases, I would expect the owner of the device to have full control over it and not, say, only the manufacturer. If my city's government installs ticket readers in every subway station and is then perpetually beholden to a single private company to upgrade/maintain/improve them, that feels like a problem.
Note that this doesn't have to mean that someone with temporary access to the device should have full control over it! There's still a place for secure boot-style systems; it's all about who controls the keys.
>a payment terminal taking card payments in a restaurant - as a diner I'd quite like some assurance that someone couldn't tamper with it to record card details for example
This one is maybe a bit more concerning since it's a card issued by a separate authority, you don't have the ability to confirm transaction amounts on a device you trust, etc... but sure, in this case, I'd be fine with the hardware vendor or payment processor controlling the hardware.
(Though long-term I think this is a bit silly in the first place considering approximately everyone is walking around with computers in their pockets that would be perfectly capable of letting you confirm transaction amounts on a display you trust. Card payments currently are effectively handing someone your account details and saying "pretty please only take as much as you say you will.")