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Technology
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2006-09-26 11:07:48-04
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Philips self-destructing MRAM on the way
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London, Sept 26: The development of Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) by Honeywell and Motorola was a major breakthrough; but now electronics manufacturer Philips plans to better it by making the chip hacker-proof. Unlike conventional RAM chip technologies, data is not stored as electric charge or current flows, but it is stacked of thin film layers. Therefore if a hacker opens the chip, they can easily read sensitive data from the layers directly. The flaw renders it useless for high-security applications, like storing passwords or cryptographic keys. The thin-film magnets in Philips' tamper-proof chip will be wrapped in a soft metal sheet and then topped with another thin-film magnet. While the wrapper remains intact the soft metal acts as a "keeper", gathering flux from the permanent magnet into a closed loop and keeping it away from the MRAM stack, reports New Scientist. If a data thief manages to crack open the enclosure and rip into the first layer of foil, all flux breaks loose and magnetic forces immediately raze any top secret files in your system. The system can be compared to the goggles used in the film Mission Impossible 2 where, after delivering the message it self destructs in 30 seconds.
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