Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
At the 30th edition of the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, which took place in Copenhagen from 27-30 November 2023 and included a daylong workshop on artificial intelligence and security (AISec), Thales made a world-premiere presentation of a technique for carrying out a physical attack on an AI system.
Companies and organisations are now well aware of the risk of software attacks on their AI models, but less information is available about potential attacks on AI hardware.
With the increasing use of AI in defence systems (drones, vehicles, fighter aircraft, etc.), the security of these highly critical assets needs to be taken into account from the earliest design stage in order to protect the intellectual property they contain and safeguard national security interests.
Side-channel attack on an embedded AI system by Thales ThalesIn an AI system, software is embedded in physical hardware components. Physical attacks known as side-channel attacks attempt to gain access to sensitive information by observing indirect signals generated by physical components of the system. Thaless demonstration of a side-channel attack during the AISec workshop was intended to raise awareness of this new type of threat among members of the scientific and technical community and encourage them to take this potential vulnerability into account when developing their systems. The heat, power consumption or electromagnetic radiation generated by a system can be a valuable source of information for hackers. They can use this information to exploit the physical characteristics of a systems electronic components, understand how the embedded software functions, access its sensitive data and compromise the confidentiality of the parameters influencing the decisions made by the AI.
Joan Mazenc, Director of the Thales ITSEF1, said: The risk of side-channel attacks on AI systems has not been fully addressed, and specific developments are needed to guarantee their reliability and resilience and to protect the intellectual property they contain. By presenting this new threat to the international scientific and technical community at the AISec conference, Thales seeks to alert industry to this emerging risk and the advanced solutions and techniques required to build a trusted AI system.
The attack presented at the AISec conference was conducted in two steps:
1 . Attack by observation, in which the physical behaviour of the system was analysed during operation to reveal the secret parameters used by the targeted AI for classifying images.
Conventional laboratory techniques can measure the electromagnetic radiation generated by a systems electronic components. By reproducing this process thousands of times in a variety of conditions, an attack AI can be trained to recognise the observed radiation patterns and thereby identify the secret parameters of the target AI with no prior knowledge of the system being observed.
2 . Active attack, in which the parameters influencing the target AIs decisions were exploited in order to deceive the model by creating adversarial examples.
Here, the operator forces the AI to identify the figure 7 as a 5. ThalesThis attack used scripts capable of exploiting the secret parameters revealed in the first step in order to create an image that would be incorrectly classified by the AI.
In addition, a hacker with physical access to the target system could achieve the same objective by physically disturbing the component while the AI is running. Creating a quick disturbance in the electronic components power supply or exposing a circuit to a strong electromagnetic pulse could alter the AIs decisions, causing it to misclassify images. This type of fault injection attack also needs to be taken into consideration by embedded system designers in order to build a trusted AI.
Thales and AI
To counter these threats, Thales runs security evaluations at its ITSEF laboratory, which is accredited by the French National Cybersecurity Agency ANSSI, and draws on the Groups extensive expertise to propose customised solutions to mitigate any vulnerabilities that are detected.
As the Groups defence and security businesses address critical requirements, often with safety-of-life implications, Thales has developed an ethical and scientific framework for the development of trusted AI based on the four strategic pillars of validity, security, explainability and responsibility. Thales solutions combine the know-how of over 300 senior AI experts and more than 4,500 cybersecurity specialists with the operational expertise of the Groups aerospace, land defence, naval defence, space and other defence and security businesses.
About Thales
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies within three domains: Defence & Security, Aeronautics & Space, and Digital Identity & Security. It develops products and solutions that help make the world safer, greener and more inclusive.
The Group invests close to 4 billion a year in Research & Development, particularly in key areas such as quantum technologies, Edge computing, 6G and cybersecurity.
Thales has 77,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2022, the Group generated sales of 17.6 billion.
1Information Technology Security Evaluation Facility
Documents
Physical hacking - Thales warns of new challenge to AI systems.pdf
Contact
Marion Bonnet, Press and social media manager, Security and Cyber
+33 (0)6 60 38 48 92 marion.bonnet@thalesgroup.com
15 Dec 2023
Thales Alenia Space has selected the UK's National Satellite Test Facility for FLEX satellite first test campaign
Read more
13 Dec 2023
Thales delivers the new integrated surveillance system to Melillas Command Headquarters
Read more
13 Dec 2023
Trust Bank and Thales Launch Singapore's First O
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
26/08/2026
As RT marks 100 years of public service broadcasting in Ireland, today we announce a season of fresh, original content, while preparing to move into a second c...
25/08/2026
Auction Part 3 running until 9 September 2026
Soundgas have announced that the latest stage of their John Paul Jones Gear Auction is now live, and that bids...
25/08/2026
Over 60 award-winning artists, songwriters, producers, engineers
The MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo SF), San Francisco's premier event for m...
25/08/2026
All three versions receive firmware upgrade
Groove Synthesis have just launched a free firmware update that kits the 3rd Wave out with two major new feature...
25/08/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
25/08/2026
Siena Kelly, Connor Swindells and Sophie Wilde join Boyle in the eight-part series from Working Title Television and Story Films, directed by Emmy and BAFTA nom...
25/08/2026
The critically acclaimed thriller will return to Sky in NovemberTuesday 25 Augus...
25/08/2026
Wuppertal August 25, 2026
Scottish Rugby Expands Managed Coach Communications Partnership With RiedelRiedel Communications today announced the continued expan...
25/08/2026
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today debuted M6 in the new Mac mini and M5 Ultra in...
25/08/2026
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new Mac mini with the all-new M6...
25/08/2026
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new Mac Studio, featuring M5 Max...
25/08/2026
The new series begins Tuesday 1 September at 7pm on RT One and RT Player
The search for Ireland's hidden housing gems is back as Cheap Irish Homes return...
24/08/2026
Human-played drum fills on demand
Sample library developers Yurt Rock have announced the launch of a new plug-in that's dedicated to creating drum fill...
24/08/2026
Debut plug-in in new Professional Series
Black Rooster Audio's latest plug-in delivers an all-in-one vocal-processing tool, and is the debut release in ...
24/08/2026
Rohde & Schwarz addresses operational efficiency and infrastructure resilience a...
24/08/2026
The Handel Scandal and Dangerous Debussy will both air on Sky Arts this AutumnMo...
24/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, w...
24/08/2026
Arvato Systems Becomes a Service Partner of HANDELSVERBAND.swiss
Zurich - Arvato Systems Switzerland has been a service partner of HANDELSVERBAND.swiss since ...
24/08/2026
We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James Connolly airs
Wednesday 26 August on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
RT is to air the compelling documenta...
23/08/2026
Offers up to 10 bands of compression
Parish Audio's latest release allows users to place individual compressors anywhere in the frequency range, but tak...
21/08/2026
Hardware-style timing shifts for software instruments
Following on from the release of Omniclock, Rapid Flow have launched a new sequencer plug-in that can ...
21/08/2026
Highly anticipated synthesizer ships in October 2026
Iceland-based Love Synthesizers have announced that their highly anticipated synthesizer is now availab...
21/08/2026
Masterpiece PBS The Forsytes has expanded its cast as its begins production in ...
21/08/2026
The BBC has unveiled first-look pictures from The Witch Farm, a new ghost story and mystery set in the Welsh countryside, coming soon to BBC iPlayer and BBC One...
21/08/2026
The BBC and BritBox have revealed the first look of Edward Bluemel as Hercule Poirot in the forthcoming six-part series Hercule from Mammoth Screen and Agatha C...
21/08/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
21/08/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Takes Over Anime NYC with BLEACH, BLACK TORCH, M...
21/08/2026
Tell us a little bit about your job I'm a Marketing Manager and work across a mix of clients and projects. No two days are ever quite the same, which defini...
21/08/2026
Beat The Lotto dives into the plot behind the 1980s National Lottery scandal
24 August 2026 at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player
Beat The Lotto is the story o...
21/08/2026
The countdown to the most wonderful night of the year has officially begun!
Host Patrick Kielty is gearing up for another unforgettable Late Late Toy Show nig...
21/08/2026
Meet puppet duo Bellie and Whizz, who are about to explore all the big feelings ...
20/08/2026
Set up your own private remote collaboration infrastructure
SoundBridge have recently put together a tutorial video that provides users with a step-by-step ...
20/08/2026
New V-Control Pro features restore basic functionality
Neyrinck's V-Control software has long been keeping older Avid control surfaces compatible with n...
20/08/2026
TV, BritBox and Mammoth Screen have announced that filming is now underway on th...
20/08/2026
Thursday 20 August 2026
Nina Sosanya, Rizzle Kicks, Roman Kemp and Paul Whiteho...
20/08/2026
Wuppertal August 20, 2026
Transformation Church Elevates Production Communicat...
20/08/2026
The music between the notes Coming together In the middle of 2026, as conversations around artificial intelligence continue to raise questions about how musi...
20/08/2026
Arvato Systems Brings Together Digital Transformation Leaders in the Manufacturi...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head back into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
Company launch with stereo-imaging tool
Panoramic is the debut release from Panorama Labs, a new company formed by mastering engineer Nicholas Di Lorenzo. C...
Facebook 
