DARPA Sponsors a Hunt For Malware in Microchips

Slashdot has a link to an IEEE Spectrum story regarding an interesting DARPA project with some alarming implications about just what we don't know about what chips are actually doing beneath the surface.

When Israeli jets bombed a suspected nuclear installation in Syria last September, the failure of supposedly superior radar to warn of incoming assault made it easy to see that this was an incident of atypical electronic warfare. Such incidents are increasing in number and not only in the Middle East.

The additional realization by the Pentagon that it no longer controls who manufactures components in its increasingly complex systems is further cause for concern.

The story, entitled The Hunt for the Kill Switch, describes the DOD's launch of a very ambition program to verify the integrity of electronic components underpinning its arsenal.

See full story.