The SC4-HSM
Security and privacy
hardware security module
SHOW HN2016
How HN took it
10 positive, 8 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 5 critical, out of 24 comments about the project. Thread score +0.16.
Idea: 6 for, 0 againstDesign: 0 for, 3 againstPrivacy: 1 for, 2 againstDocs: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Open source approach and thorough work praised
From 3 comments
I am impressed and thankful for this as open-source. You learn a lot when you attempt to secure the hardware. A good starting place.
watersb on HNI've been watching this project since I saw it mentioned in an HN comment some time ago, it's nice to see stuff like this being worked on. Doubly so because I envisioned building…
mrsteveman1 on HNI've been looking for something like this in a while. It would be feasible to make something like this but with a Bluetooth interface instead (I'm concerned about MITM attacks)?…
mmlopes on HN
Objections
Not a real HSM: no tamper destruction or side-channel protection
From 2 comments
Calling this an HSM is somewhat disingenuous, as it seems to contain none of the usual defenses found in a "real" hardware security module, like tamper self-destruction of key…
mcpherrinm on HNAt least in my mind, the defining attribute of an HSM is protection against physical compromise of the device. Maybe we disagree on that definition: I guess it is hardware, and…
mcpherrinm on HN
Display makes it fragile for pocket carry
From 1 comment
Hmmm, it has a display. This is going to last about two days in my pocket. For the last year I've been carrying around a couple Yubikeys on my keychain. They've been through the…
kabdib on HN
Hardware and firmware not audited
From 1 comment
> at the current price point, this device is actually plausible to experiment with Yes, that's really the idea at this point. Neither the hardware nor the firmware have been…
lisper on HN
Requests
Publish hardware schematics and PCB layout
From 1 comment
Where can I find the HW schematics and the PCB layout?
sschueller on HN
Add beeper for alerts
From 1 comment
>The display and user buttons protect against an attack launched from the host machine. Before the unit performs a cryptographic operation it can display information about what…
ComodoHacker on HN
Questions
Why STM32 and ARM instead of RISC-V
From 1 comment
Awesome. One question... why STM/ARM? I'm not an expert in the available choices, but I'm generally curious about RiskV devices because they're fully open. Are the designs of…
jaekwon on HN
Is the chip design auditable or could it have a backdoor
From 2 comments
Awesome. One question... why STM/ARM? I'm not an expert in the available choices, but I'm generally curious about RiskV devices because they're fully open. Are the designs of…
jaekwon on HN> Awesome. Thanks! > why STM/ARM? The STM32F415 is specifically designed for crypto and security-sensitive applications. It has built-in support for AES and other crypto…
lisper on HN
Alternatives named
Smartcards
From 1 comment
At least in my mind, the defining attribute of an HSM is protection against physical compromise of the device. Maybe we disagree on that definition: I guess it is hardware, and…
mcpherrinm on HN
Yubikey
From 1 comment
Hmmm, it has a display. This is going to last about two days in my pocket. For the last year I've been carrying around a couple Yubikeys on my keychain. They've been through the…
kabdib on HN
Ledger Blue wallet
From 1 comment
Security assessment is a bottom-up process. Most security in a HSM is in the hardware. This is clearly not using secure IC's as illustrated in the smartcard market. It's already…
nickpsecurity on HN