Black Box Inside
A study about Computer Trust and Freedom
Abstract
The dominant trend concerning cybersecurity, at a scientific as well as an executive level, is the a priori acceptance that manufacturers of technology products are trustworthy. So, security measures are designed, focusing exclusively on the higher levels of a computer system, excluding highly important parts, such as the operating system and firmware. Furthermore, there are other parts that are fundamentally more crucial in operation and, thus, in security. Inside almost all computing systems, such as laptops and mobile phones, resides an independent microcontroller that has administrator access to all its subsystems. This special type of hardware has unlimited access to the contents of the hard disk and memory, to the network devices, even to what the user views on the screen. The above mentioned are feasible, regardless of the operating system, even remotely, while the system is in shutdown mode. These "black boxes" are advertised as features that protect users from cybercriminals. In this paper, this argument is examined by exploring the relationship between trust and freedom in technology.