CAPEC-522

Standard Abstraction Level
Meta — Very abstract, high-level category
Standard — Specific enough to understand
Detailed — Tied to specific technique Draft MITRE CAPEC Status
Stable — Fully reviewed and complete
Draft — Under development
Incomplete — Partially defined
Deprecated — No longer recommended
Obsolete — Replaced by another CAPEC Likelihood: Low Severity: High
Malicious Hardware Component Replacement

Description

An adversary replaces legitimate hardware in the system with faulty counterfeit or tampered hardware in the supply chain distribution channel, with purpose of causing malicious disruption or allowing for additional compromise when the system is deployed.

Prerequisites

Physical access to the system after it has left the manufacturer but before it is deployed at the victim location.

Mitigations

Ensure that all contractors and sub-suppliers use trusted means of shipping (e.g., bonded/cleared/vetted and insured couriers) to ensure that components, once purchased, are not subject to compromise during their delivery.

Prevent or detect tampering with critical hardware or firmware components while in transit through use of state-of-the-art anti-tamper devices.

Use tamper-resistant and tamper-evident packaging when shipping critical components (e.g., plastic coating for circuit boards, tamper tape, paint, sensors, and/or seals for cases and containers) and inspect received system components for evidence of tampering.

Skills Required

[High] Advanced knowledge of the design of the system.

[High] Hardware creation and manufacture of replacement components.