Can you hack Raspberry Pi’s new chip?

While the company believes the chip is robust and secure, it acknowledges that, given enough time and resources, anything can be hacked. To explore the limits of its security, Raspberry Pi has issued an open challenge.

Before launching the RP2350 and Raspberry Pi Pico 2, Raspberry Pi collaborated with renowned security experts, Thomas Roth and Colin O’Flynn, to rigorously test the security features of the chip and its accompanying software. Eager to push the boundaries further, Raspberry Pi partnered with Hextree.io to create a unique security hacking challenge for the RP2350.

This hacking challenge was officially launched at DEF CON 32 and will run for 30 days. It is open to all, not just those who attended the event. Participants are tasked with setting up the RP2350 in its standard secure mode, attempting to hack it, and uncovering the secret stored in its OTP (one-time programmable memory). The first person to successfully achieve this feat will be awarded $10,000.

For those interested in participating, detailed information on the challenge and the software needed to program the RP2350 is available online.

As part of the challenge, Hextree.io has developed the RP2350 Security Playground board. This innovative tool provides users with easy access to manipulate the voltage rails or clock input for the RP2350, allowing the chip to be tested in various modes. The board features a user-friendly GUI, making it an excellent resource for both the challenge and other security testing projects.

Participants are encouraged to use this hardware for the challenge or for their personal projects.

This challenge will run from 4pm UK time on 8th August 2024 and conclude at 4pm UK time on 7th September 2024.

Goodluck!