New processor makes hacking impossible by turning the computer into a “random puzzle”
Computer researchers have developed a new ultra-secure processor capable of thwarting hacker attacks like never before. For this, it is able to randomly modify its underlying structure, which would make it practically inviolable.
The processor, called Morpheus, was developed by Todd Austin, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan and Lauren Biernacki, doctoral student in computer science and engineering at the same university.
After developing their first prototype, they were quick to have it tested, and for that, they did not give up: last year, 525 computer security researchers spent three months trying to hack the processor (as well as other similar designs). Result: all the attempts against Morpheus have failed… The development of the first prototype of Morpheus was completed in 2019. To thwart the attacks, he transforms the architecture of the computer into a real random puzzle.
The resulting study was part of a program sponsored by the United States Defense Advanced Research Program (DARPA) to design a secure processor capable of protecting vulnerable software. DARPA first released the results in January 2021.
