Counterfeits and Kill Switches
Hammond A. Pearce · 2025
As the digital world expands, privacy and operational threats against computer systems are becoming ever more pervasive. Personal information is frequently stolen in breaches, and essential services face shutdowns due to cyberattacks. Recent high-profile incidents, such as the 2022 Medibank data breach of over 9 million Australians’ medical data, and the 2023 disruption of Sydney’s port systems, highlight the growing danger. While most focus remains on software vulnerabilities, hardware-based attacks present even graver, often invisible threats. Here, a compromised circuit could shut down essential infrastructure or result in the failure of aircraft controls. This chapter introduces readers to the emerging field of hardware security, exploring how counterfeit electronics and hardware Trojans can infiltrate and compromise critical systems. It also discusses the countermeasures being developed to combat these insidious risks, making the case for why hardware security deserves broader attention in today’s world.