Eugene Leitl wrote:
> You can't subvert a hardwired optical switch very much.
This is true, if it is the kind that has gates directly wired to a fixed table. However this is not usually the case. Usually there is a node in there that sends and receives the infrastructure packets and runs the algorithms to update the tables that direct the switching part. It is a secondary effort to speed up the node part because it is always assumed that routes change slowly with respect to traffic on the routes. None the less, the processors do get the benefit of the latest technology, and do need to keep up with the ever increasing number of infrastructure packets per second. As a result, there is plenty of processing power and they are *very* well connected to each other. I was not thinking about the subversion of the engine of the car, but rather, the driver of the car.
For security reasons, I advocate manufactures use actual ROM for the code, or once-only encryption to gain access to the code, in these machines. However, for ease of upgrade reasons, most do not, and rely on simple passwords.
-Ken