Break IC, Recover MCU, Microcontroller Reverse Engineering

Posts Tagged ‘smartcard flash reverse engineering’

Reverse Engineering IC Flash is starting point of Microcontroller reverse engineering, target MCU will be delayer one by one in the reverse order of Microprocessor manufacturing, the purpose is to figure out the security fuse bit and cut it off;

Reverse Engineering IC Flash is starting point of Microcontroller reverse engineering, target MCU will be delayer one by one in the reverse order of Microprocessor manufacturing, the purpose is to figure out the security fuse bit and cut it off

Read program and data out from Microcontroller memory requires direct access to the internal components of the device. If it is a security module or a USB dongle, then it has to be opened to get access to the internal memory chips. In the case of a smartcard or a microcontroller, the packaging should be removed followed by FIB or laser depassivation to get access to the internal wires buried deep under the passivation layer of the chip.

Such ic decryption method normally require a well equipped and knowledgeable ic attacker to succeed. Meanwhile, invasive ic extraction are becoming constantly more demanding and expensive, as feature sizes shrink and device complexity increases.