# 024 - Cars, Servers, and FPGAs!

- Show: [Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast)
- Published: 2019-07-15
- Length: 1h 27m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas
- Listen: https://unnamedre.com/episode/24

## Summary

Rick Altherr, a security researcher at Eclipsium, discusses his work reverse engineering automotive ECUs, server BMCs, and FPGAs. He details the process of decoding undocumented serial protocols in aftermarket engine control units and explains the architecture of EFI and Baseboard Management Controllers (BMCs). Altherr also covers the open-source FPGA toolchain revolution, specifically how Clifford Wolf and others reverse-engineered Lattice iCE40 chips to enable tools like Yosys and NextPNR.

## Chapters

- [0:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas#t=28) Introduction and Rick Altherr's Background
- [1:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas#t=102) Reverse Engineering Aftermarket ECU Protocols
- [24:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas#t=1479) EFI, BMCs, and Server Firmware Architecture
- [31:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas#t=1864) Firmware Security and BMC Vulnerabilities
- [53:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas#t=3203) Open Source FPGA Toolchains and Reverse Engineering
- [1:05:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas#t=3900) FPGA Reverse Engineering Techniques and Tools
- [1:21:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas#t=4891) Recommended Tools: xxd and Ghidra

## Topics

- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Eclipsium (company)
- Ghidra (tool)
- EFI (other)
- BMC (other)
- TianoCore (other)
- Yocto (other)
- OpenBMC (other)
- iCE40 (chip)
- Yosys (tool)
- NextPNR (tool)
- Chisel (other)
- xv6 (other)
- xxd (tool)
- Fomu (product)
- TinyFPGA (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [#397.8 - An Interview with Chris Gerlinsky](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-06-25-397-8-an-interview-with-chris-gerlinsky) (The Amp Hour)
- [Pulled From A Working Environment](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-07-01-pulled-from-a-working-environment) (The Amp Hour)
- [An Interview with Dmitry Nedospasov](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-06-17-an-interview-with-dmitry-nedospasov) (The Amp Hour)
- [Open FPGA Toolchains at 35c3](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-01-02-open-fpga-toolchains-at-35c3) (The Amp Hour)
- [An Interview with Claire (née 'Clifford') Wolf](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast.