Building Secure Firmware

As platforms are universally network-connected and can contain multiple devices with firmware, and a global supply chain feeds into platform firmware, assurance is critical for consumers, IT enterprises, and governments. This importance is highlighted by emergent requirements such as NIST SP800-193 for firmware resilience and NIST SP800-155 for firmware measurement.

This book covers the secure implementation of various aspects of firmware, including standards-based firmware—such as support of the Trusted Computing Group (TCG), Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF), and Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specifications—and also provides code samples and use cases. Beyond the standards, alternate firmware implementations such as ARM Trusted Firmware and other device firmware implementations (such as platform roots of trust), are covered.

What You Will Learn

• Get an overview of proactive security development for firmware, including firmware threat modeling
• Understand the details of architecture, including protection, detection, recovery, integrity measurement, and access control
• Be familiar with best practices for secure firmware development, including trusted execution environments, cryptography, and language-based defenses
• Know the techniques used for security validation and maintenance