CAPEC-521 Hardware Design Specifications Are Altered

An attacker with access to a manufacturer's hardware manufacturing process documentation alters the design specifications, which introduces flaws advantageous to the attacker once the system is deployed.

• Advanced knowledge of hardware capabilities of a manufacturer's product. • Access to the manufacturer's documentation.

• [High] Ability to read, interpret, and subsequently alter manufacturer's documentation to cause errors in design specifications. • [High] Ability to stealthly gain access via remote compromise or physical access to the manufacturer's documentation.

• Digitize documents and cryptographically sign them to verify authenticity. • Password protect documents and make them read-only for unauthorized users. • Avoid emailing important documents and configurations. • Ensure deleted files are actually deleted. • Maintain backups of the document for recovery and verification. • Separate need-to-know information from system configuration information depending on the user.