Executive Summary
In 2024, security researchers demonstrated a novel cyberattack targeting automotive microchips using precisely aligned laser beams. The attack exploited fundamental hardware vulnerabilities, allowing adversaries to manipulate or extract data from silicon chips embedded in modern vehicles. By directing lasers at sensitive circuits, attackers could trigger faults, bypass certain security controls, and potentially gain access to encrypted data streams or control automotive systems. The proof-of-concept underscores critical exposure across connected and autonomous vehicles, as physical access to components can enable advanced attacks beyond the reach of traditional software-based defenses.
This incident is particularly relevant as vehicles and other IoT systems grow increasingly reliant on sophisticated microelectronics. The emergence of physical-layer hardware attacks highlights the urgent need for new security architectures, including microchip hardening and multi-layered threat detection, to counter evolving risks in transportation and critical infrastructure.
Why This Matters Now
As connected vehicles become ubiquitous and attackers shift toward supply-chain and hardware-level vectors, traditional network and software defenses are insufficient. The emergence of laser-based silicon attacks offers a preview of future, harder-to-detect threats to critical infrastructure, demanding urgent investment in physical and hardware security controls.
Attack Path Analysis
The attack began with the adversary using laser-induced faults to compromise microchips in automotive systems, providing initial access at the hardware level. Following this, attackers leveraged the compromised system to escalate privileges, gaining deeper control over associated networked devices. They then moved laterally between workloads or cloud-connected vehicle systems, exploiting insufficient segmentation. The adversary established communication channels to remotely control or exfiltrate data using unmonitored egress paths. Sensitive in-car or cloud-connected data was then covertly exfiltrated via insecure channels, and finally, the attack resulted in disruption or manipulation of vehicle operations, potentially causing safety impacts. Each stage highlighted the critical gaps where zero trust segmentation and enforceable network controls could have limited attacker capability.
Kill Chain Progression
Initial Compromise
Description
Attacker employed laser attacks on microchips to induce faults, gaining initial hardware access to automotive or connected vehicle components.
Related CVEs
CVE-2023-1375
CVSS 7.5A vulnerability in the DeepCover DS28C36 secure EEPROM allows attackers to extract protected EEPROM user pages through double laser fault injection.
Affected Products:
Analog Devices DeepCover DS28C36 – All versions
Exploit Status:
proof of conceptReferences:
MITRE ATT&CK® Techniques
Supply Chain Compromise
Hardware Additions
Hardware Manipulation
Device Firmware
Exploitation for Evasion
Monitor and Control System Device Identification
Firmware Corruption
Potential Compliance Exposure
Mapping incident impact across multiple compliance frameworks.
PCI DSS 4.0 – Ensure Critical Systems Are Protected from Tampering
Control ID: 6.3.2
NYDFS 23 NYCRR 500 – Cybersecurity Policy
Control ID: 500.03
DORA – ICT Risk Management Standards
Control ID: Article 8(2)
CISA ZTMM 2.0 – Continuous Device Security and Tamper Detection
Control ID: Device Pillar: Device Security Posture Assessment
NIS2 Directive – Risk Analysis and Security of Network and Information Systems
Control ID: Article 21(2)(d)
Sector Implications
Industry-specific impact of the vulnerabilities, including operational, regulatory, and cloud security risks.
Automotive
Direct exposure to laser-based hardware attacks on vehicle microchips threatens automotive systems requiring enhanced encryption and zero trust segmentation protection.
Aviation/Aerospace
Critical aviation systems face silicon chip vulnerabilities from laser attacks, demanding multicloud visibility and threat detection for flight safety systems.
Defense/Space
Military and space hardware extremely vulnerable to sophisticated laser microchip attacks requiring comprehensive egress security and anomaly response capabilities.
Computer Hardware
Silicon chip manufacturers face direct threat from laser-based hardware attacks necessitating inline IPS protection and secure hybrid connectivity measures.
Sources
- Bombarding Cars With Lasers: Novel Auto Cyberattacks Emergehttps://www.darkreading.com/ics-ot-security/microchip-tech-vehicles-laser-attacksVerified
- DeepCover DS28C36: A Hardware Vulnerability Identification and Exploitation Using T-Test and Double Laser Fault Injectionhttps://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1375Verified
- Lateral Laser Fault Injection: A new variant to one of the most effective hardware attack on secure chips, developed by Applus+ Laboratorieshttps://www.appluslaboratories.com/global/en/news/publications/new-fault-injection-attacksVerified
- Fault Injection Attacks | DEKRAhttps://www.dekra.com/en/fault-injection-attacks/Verified
Frequently Asked Questions
Cloud Native Security Fabric Mitigations and ControlsCNSF
Applying zero trust segmentation, encrypted traffic controls, and robust egress policy enforcement would have drastically contained attacker movement, limited lateral spread, and prevented data exfiltration across cloud-connected vehicle environments. CNSF controls like microsegmentation and inline policy enforcement are crucial to mitigating hardware-initiated attacks in connected automotive systems.
Control: Multicloud Visibility & Control
Mitigation: Early detection of anomalous device behavior from compromised endpoints.
Control: Encrypted Traffic (HPE)
Mitigation: Protected sensitive device communications from interception or manipulation.
Control: Zero Trust Segmentation
Mitigation: Prevented unauthorized east-west traffic between critical systems.
Control: Inline IPS (Suricata)
Mitigation: Threat signatures and inline detection would identify C2 patterns.
Control: Egress Security & Policy Enforcement
Mitigation: Prevented data exfiltration to unauthorized destinations.
Timely detection and containment of destructive or unsafe activities.
Impact at a Glance
Affected Business Functions
- Vehicle Control Systems
- Safety Mechanisms
Estimated downtime: 7 days
Estimated loss: $5,000,000
Potential exposure of cryptographic keys and sensitive vehicle control data, leading to unauthorized access and control over vehicle systems.
Recommended Actions
Key Takeaways & Next Steps
- • Implement end-to-end encryption for all network traffic between automotive and cloud workloads to mitigate privilege escalation and interception risks.
- • Enforce zero trust segmentation and least-privilege access across all cloud-connected and vehicle environments to contain lateral movement from hardware-originated breaches.
- • Deploy egress security controls and FQDN-based filtering to stop covert data exfiltration attempts from compromised devices.
- • Leverage inline intrusion prevention systems and behavioral anomaly detection to proactively identify and halt command and control or destructive activity.
- • Enhance multicloud visibility and centralized policy enforcement to maintain real-time awareness and rapid response capabilities across distributed connected systems.
