Tag: Snapdragon

Motorola bootlocker unlocking

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Unlocking the Motorola Bootloader

In this blog post, we’ll explore the Motorola bootloader on recent Qualcomm Snapdragon devices. Our goal will be to unlock the bootloader of a Moto X (2nd Gen), by using the TrustZone kernel code execution vulnerability from the previous blog posts. Note that although we will show the complete unlocking process for this specific device, it should be general enough to work at-least for most modern Motorola devices. […]

Full post:
http://bits-please.blogspot.com/2016/02/unlocking-motorola-bootloader.html

Linaro’s 96Boards initiative

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Earlier this year, ARM’s Linaro created 96Boards.org.

The 96Boards initiative is designed to offer a single software and hardware community across multiple vendor boards supporting a range of different features. A fixed set of minimum functions including USB, SD, HDMI and standardized low speed and high speed peripheral connectors are provided. Vendors may add customized hardware and feature sets provided the minimum functions are available. We expect this to extend the platform life, increase the market for add-on hardware, and accelerate open source upstreaming of support for new SoC features. The 96Boards standard specification and this website are maintained by the Linaro Community Board Group (LCG). Linaro is a collaborative software engineering organization focused on the ARM architecture. Corporate members of Linaro provide funding and engineers plus direction through various steering committees and resources are split into semi-autonomous groups with their own members.

There are currently two 96Boards specifications for low-cost ARMv7-A and ARMv8-A development boards:
* The Consumer Edition (CE) targets the mobile, embedded and digital home segments.
* The Enterprise Edition (EE) targets the networking and server segments.

They have 3 boards listed currently:
* DragonBoard 410c: Board based on Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 410 processor
* The HiKey Board: Board based on HiSilicon Kirin 6220 processor
* 96Boards UART Serial Adapter: a USB to UART interface to be used with any 96Boards Consumer or Enterprise Edition board.

https://www.96boards.org/ce-specification
https://www.96boards.org/ee-specification
https://www.96boards.org/products/

Marcin Juszkiewicz has a good blog post on 96boards as well:
http://marcin.juszkiewicz.com.pl/2015/06/26/96boards-goes-enterprise/

ARM Devices has a video discussing adding 96boards hardware targets to LAVA, the CI server by Linaro for embedded device testing.

LAVA Lab to integrate HiKey from 96Boards.org

Qualcomm Snapdragon updates

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Qualcomm announces ARM-based Snapdragon 430 and 617, and Snapdragon 820 with X12 LTE modem:

Over the past several weeks, we have been revealing details about the incredible features of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. And today we are revealing the final piece of the puzzle. The Snapdragon 820 is the most powerful mobile processor we’ve ever made. […]

Qualcomm Technologies is building up the Snapdragon line-up with two new products and several firsts. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 and 430 processors are designed to deliver high-end performance and experiences in affordable, high- and mid-tier devices. […]

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/snapdragon/2015/09/14/snapdragon-617-and-430-build-mid-tier-high-end-features
https://www.qualcomm.com/news/snapdragon/2015/09/14/snapdragon-820-countdown-breakthrough-lte-and-wi-fi-x12-lte-modem

Avast teams with Qualcomm on Snapdragon security

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Qualcomm makes the Snapdragon 820 processor, and is working with Avast Software to include a new kernel-level security technology that is able to detect 0day malware using machine learning, expected to be in consumer devices next year. Excerpting their press release:

“Avast is pleased to work together with Qualcomm Technologies to provide hardware-based security that is integrated into the hardware and firmware of Snapdragon processors,” said Vince Steckler, chief executive officer of Avast. “With threats increasing every day, OEMs and mobile operators need to protect their users in real-time. Snapdragon Smart Protect will provide hardware-based security at the processor level, which is designed to help improve consumer safety from rogue applications, zero day attacks, and ransomware.” Traditional security software can only scan and monitor software behavior at the application and framework layer level. Avast is utilizing Snapdragon Smart Protect on-device, machine-learning technology at the processor level to address zero-day attacks and differentiate between clean and malicious software applications. While consumers will benefit from better protection, OEMs and mobile operators will benefit from reducing the risk of data leakage and malware attacks for their users.

Full press release:

https://press.avast.com/avast-builds-threat-detection-based-on-machine-learning-to-protect-users-from-zero-day-attacks-malware-and-privacy-threats

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/snapdragon
https://www.avast.com/