From: "Cynthia H. Brown" <cynthb@sonetis.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Apr 1997 09:36:26 -0700 (PDT)
To: Jeremiah A Blatz <jer+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Black box attacks (was Re: Crypto-Dongel)
In-Reply-To: <0nGlUs200YUd1==LY0@andrew.cmu.edu>
Message-ID: <Pine.BSD/.3.91.970409121937.266A-100000@mrburns.iosphere.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On Wed, 9 Apr 1997, Jeremiah A Blatz wrote:
> Dave Emery <die@pig.die.com> writes:
> >         I have heard about thermite devices being used for this in 
> > the sort of applications that might warrent it.   Granted that this
> > is a royal fire hazard unless very carefully engineered, but at least
> > it is not an explosive per se....  
> 
> Thermite is probably overkill unless you're trying to dust something
> big like a hard drive. Just a bit of magnesium (which is often used as
> primer for thermite) should do the trick on a chip. I wonder if it's
> really essential to be so drastic, though? Would just getting the chip
> really hot be enough to wipe it? What about exposing it to a big arc?
> One might imagine a PCMCIA with a voltage doubling diode ladder and a
> small capacitor... would this be sufficient?

If you're trying to destroy a standard IC, why don't you just hook up the
power and ground pins to a 120V AC outlet?  No special equipment or
substances required, just a couple of wires.  Done it myself, and some
chips make a really neat popping sound as the top blows off :-)

Warning for the electronically challenged: don't use this method if you 
care about the rest of the board. 

Cynthia
===============================================================
		   Cynthia H. Brown, P.Eng.
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