verify currently running software on ram

Mon Jan 13 15:59:08 UTC 2014

---- Original Message -----
> From: "Valdis Kletnieks" <Valdis.Kletnieks at vt.edu>

> You really need assistance from one layer further down - if you're in
> a VM, you need to ask the hypervisor. If you're on bare metal, you need
> to ask the SMM or equivalent. If you're in the SMM, you need to ask the
> hardware. And of course, at each level, you have to ask yourself how
> you know that *that* level isn't lying to you....
> 
> (Yes, this is the corner of system security where, if you're not
> already a paranoid schizophrenic, you will be soon.. :)

If you have not already read the Ken Thompson paper:

  http://cm.bell-labs.com/who/ken/trust.html

And for a bit more on whether it was ever actually implemented, from Ken
himself:

  https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.security.unix/ivjYjNSduFc/0Er2cynPKjsJ

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                  Baylink                       jra at baylink.com
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