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
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
Facebook 
