Fast Facts

• Laser Fault Injection (LFI) is a rare but powerful attack that can manipulate car microchips at the hardware level.
• Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator (FD-SOI) chips use a special insulating layer to resist such attacks.
• New international regulations urge automakers to defend against physical chip tampering, including LFI.
• FD-SOI tech also reduces chip costs and electrical noise, making it attractive beyond just security reasons.

Lasers, Lies, and Microchips: A New Security Battlefield

Picture a high-tech heist straight out of a spy thriller: a hacker, hunched over a car's exposed brain, aims a pinpoint laser at a microchip. With a zap, the chip’s logic falters - an authentication check is skipped, a secret key is leaked, or a safety system is quietly disabled. This isn’t just fiction. It’s a real, if rare, threat known as Laser Fault Injection (LFI), and it’s sending shockwaves through the auto industry.

Until recently, such attacks were the stuff of elite labs and nation-state arsenals. But as vehicles pack more chips - over 100 in some modern cars - the attack surface widens. LFI bypasses software firewalls and wireless defenses by going straight for the silicon, using a focused laser pulse to flip tiny switches called transistors. While it demands physical access and expert know-how, the consequences could be dire: think remote car theft, sabotage, or disabling safety systems.

FD-SOI: The Chip That Fights Back

Enter FD-SOI, or Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator technology. Imagine wrapping every transistor in a microchip with a glass-like moat - an insulating layer that blocks unwanted energy surges. This “moat” makes it far harder for a laser to sow chaos inside the chip. According to a new report from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and chipmaker Soitec, FD-SOI chips force attackers to crank up their lasers and spend hours, not minutes, to achieve the same disruption as on a standard chip. And the risk of frying the chip entirely goes up.

The technology isn’t just about lasers. The insulating layer slashes electrical noise, reduces overheating, and simplifies chip design, making manufacturing cheaper and more predictable. That’s good news for automakers squeezed by both safety regulations and global chip shortages.

Regulators and the Road Ahead

Global regulators are taking these sci-fi threats seriously. Since 2021, United Nations Regulation No. 155 requires car makers to guard against all forms of cyber-physical attacks - including hardware tampering like LFI. Industry standards such as ISO/SAE 21434 now call for risk assessments that specifically consider fault injection. While the average car owner may never face a laser-wielding villain, regulators argue that closing the door to such “worst-case” hacks also blocks easier, copycat attacks in the future.

The geopolitical angle looms large. As connected cars become rolling computers, securing their chips becomes a matter not just of safety, but of national competitiveness. With FD-SOI, Europe positions itself at the forefront of both innovation and defense, setting the pace for global adoption.

WIKICROOK

• Laser Fault Injection (LFI): Laser Fault Injection (LFI) is a rare attack where a focused laser beam disrupts a microchip’s operation, potentially altering its behavior or exposing secrets.
• Fully Depleted Silicon: Fully Depleted Silicon uses an insulating layer in microchips to block energy leaks, improve efficiency, and strengthen resistance to hacking.
• Microcontroller Unit (MCU): A Microcontroller Unit (MCU) is a tiny computer chip that controls specific functions in devices like cars, appliances, and gadgets.
• UN Regulation No. 155: UN Regulation No. 155 requires automakers to safeguard vehicles against cyber and physical threats, including chip tampering, through comprehensive security measures.
• Fault Injection: Fault injection is a method of intentionally introducing errors into hardware or software to test system vulnerabilities and improve security.