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Capec-535 Detail

Malicious Gray Market Hardware

Detailed Supply Chain Physical Security Hardware Likelihood: Low Typical Severity: High

Parents: 531

Description

An attacker maliciously alters hardware components that will be sold on the gray market, allowing for victim disruption and compromise when the victim needs replacement hardware components for systems where the parts are no longer in regular supply from original suppliers, or where the hardware components from the attacker seems to be a great benefit from a cost perspective.

Not present

External ID Source Link Description
CAPEC-535 capec https://capec.mitre.org/data/definitions/535.html
REF-439 reference_from_CAPEC http://www.mitre.org/sites/default/files/publications/supply-chain-attack-framework-14-0228.pdf John F. Miller, Supply Chain Attack Framework and Attack Patterns, 2013, The MITRE Corporation

Not present

  1. Physical access to a gray market reseller's hardware components supply, or the ability to appear as a gray market reseller to the victim's buyer.

Not present

High
Able to develop and manufacture malicious hardware components that perform the same functions and processes as their non-malicious counterparts.

Not present

  1. An attacker develops co-processor boards with malicious capabilities that are technically the same as a manufacturer's expensive upgrade to their flagship system. The victim has installed the manufacturer's base system without the expensive upgrade. The attacker contacts the victim and states they have the co-processor boards at a drastically-reduced price, falsely stating they were acquired from a bankruptcy liquidation of a company that had purchased them from the manufacturer. The victim after hearing the drastically reduced price decides to take advantage of the situation and purchases the upgrades from the attacker, and installs them. This allows the attacker to further compromise the victim.