Defcon badge features transparent, open-source security chip

Huang has spent three years developing the Baochip-1x, aiming to advance security, transparency, and trustworthiness in computing. He has published the source code for the chip's operating system, firmware, processor core, cryptographic engines, and input-output system on GitHub, allowing for public inspection and use.

Unlike traditional chips encased in opaque plastic, the Baochip is designed so that infrared light can pass through its packaging, enabling visual inspection of the silicon itself. This allows researchers and attendees to compare the manufactured chip against its published design, addressing supply-chain concerns about potential backdoors.

Huang collaborated with a company called Crossbar, piggybacking on their manufacturing run to produce his chip. While the Crossbar version uses a proprietary ARM core, Huang's Baochip utilizes an open-source RISC-V core. Some low-level manufacturing elements remain proprietary, but Huang states the chip is significantly more open than other security-oriented chips.

Defcon founder Jeff Moss recognized the Baochip's alignment with the conference's theme of "agency" and saw the badge distribution as an opportunity to bootstrap the chip's adoption. The 27,000 badges represent the first major distribution of the Baochip, which can also function as a FIDO hardware security token.