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Insights and research from our global cybersecurity team.

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Public Report – Confidential Mode for Hyperdisk – DEK Protection Analysis

During the spring of 2024, Google engaged NCC Group to conduct a design review of Confidential Mode for Hyperdisk (CHD) architecture in order to analyze how the Data Encryption Key (DEK) that encrypts data-at-rest is protected. The project was 10 person days and the goal is to validate that the following two properties are enforced: […]


Bypassing software update package encryption – extracting the Lexmark MC3224i printer firmware (part 1)

Lexmark encrypts the firmware update packages provided to consumers, making the binary analysis more difficult. With little over a month of research time assigned and few targets to look at, NCC Group decided to remove the flash memory and extract the firmware using a programmer, firmware which we (correctly) assumed would be stored unencrypted. This allowed us to bypass the firmware update package encryption. With the firmware extracted, the binaries could be reverse-engineered to find vulnerabilities that would allow remote code execution.


Choosing the Right MCU for Your Embedded Device — Desired Security Features of Microcontrollers

The Microcontroller Unit (MCU) is the heart of an embedded device, where the main firmware executes its instructions to carry out the system’s functions. These come in many varieties. Relatively simple microcontrollers with limited-resource processors may bundle only a few IO peripherals, a small amount of memory, and be intended to run a small real-time […]


Why IoT Security Matters

Introduction Internet of Things security can mean any number of things for your product and its users. This will depend largely on the context of the product and its deployment, and can include specific requirements, such as integrity, confidentiality, availability, safety, privacy, consent, authenticity, and more. Understanding how security fits into the product’s threat modelling […]