Ledger says popular chip used in smartphones vulnerable to unstoppable attack
Ledger says it was able to gain “full and absolute control” over a smartphone by using electromagnetic pulses to take over its chip.
A chip widely used in smartphones has an unfixable vulnerability that could allow attackers to gain complete control and steal private keys stored on the device, according to crypto wallet maker Ledger.
Ledger said in a report on Wednesday that it tested an attack on the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 (MT6878), and bypassed its security measures to gain “full and absolute control over the smartphone, with no security barrier left standing.”
Ledger security engineers Charles Christen and Léo Benito explained that they took control of the chip using electromagnetic pulses during the chip’s initial boot process.
