This 3D printed laser chip-hacking device uses a $20 laser pointer, costs $500 to build, and was developed so that 'people can do this in their homes'

HardwareThis 3D printed laser chip-hacking device uses a $20 laser pointer, costs $500 to build, and was developed so that ‘people can do this in their homes’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: EThamPhoto via Getty Images)

Green laser beam coming from a hand-held laser pointer

Laser hacking. If there’s one phrase that says we’re already living in the future I imagined as a kid, it’s laser hacking, or to give one method its more technical term, “laser fault injection”. While laser-based hacking techniques aren’t exactly new, you’d usually need advanced and expensive machinery to pull off such an advanced trick.

However, two hackers at the security firm NetSPI plan to present their open source, 3D printable solution, called the RayV Lite, at theBlack Hat cybersecurity conferencein Las Vegas later this week (viaWired). Costing just $500 to construct and using many off-the-shelf components, the duo hope that the device will bring laser hacking to the masses.

First, a primer: Modern chips use transistors that are incredible small. So small, in fact, that they’re vulnerable to tiny variations in charge. Laser hacking devices using the laser fault injection method use a precisely targeted and timed laser blast (a sentence I always wanted to write) to knock electrons out of place and cause a glitch on the chip.

Normally, you’d needsome serious hardwareand a whole lot of cash to achieve such an effect. However, Sam Beaumont and Larry “Patch” Trowell have designed a tool that uses a set of relatively cheap and widely available components, including a $20 laser pointer, aRaspberry Pi, and an open source 3D printed microscope design to achieve the same effect.

“We’re not discovering anything new, in the sense that other people have used lasers this way before” says Beaumont. “We’re doing it at a lower cost, so that people can do this in their homes.”

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

“You take the chip off the crypto wallet, hit it with a laser at the right time, and it will just assume you have the PIN. It just jumps through the instructions and gives the key back.”

The first version of the tool will focus on laser fault injection, while a later version is planned to make use of a different method usinglaser logic state imaging. This more advanced technique uses a laser to monitor a chips architecture and activity to map out data as it’s being processed, revealing vulnerabilities that can later be exploited.

Your next machine(Image credit: Future)Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

Your next machine

(Image credit: Future)Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

(Image credit: Future)

Gaming PC group shot

Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

While security is the primary concern here, having access to a relatively cheap tool that can target, disrupt, and reveal the inner workings of immensely complicated silicon will hopefully further the understanding of many. Either that, or your hardware crypto wallet just became a whole lot more vulnerable to the tyranny of lasers, rather than simply being prone to slipping down the back of the sofa—or given the volatility of the crypto market, an occasionally expensive paperweight.

More about hardwareAsus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forwardThe Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing processLatestHarrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us RemakeSee more latest►

More about hardware

Asus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forwardThe Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process

Three of Asus ROG’s fourth generation Slash bags float in a blue-magenta gradient void. The backpack, sling bag, and sleeve all feature a black all-over colourway with an indent design on the bottom left corner of each bag that looks a bit like tire tracks.

Asus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forward

Astrohaus Freewrite Wordrunner keyboard front and back shot

The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process

LatestHarrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us RemakeSee more latest►

Latest

Harrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us Remake

The dual protagonists of Assassins Creed Shadows stand silhouetted against a setting sun.

Harrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us Remake

See more latest►

Most PopularThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era ChicagoPath of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanicsAlan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term ‘4X,’ has diedTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetOld meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skillHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process’I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals

Most Popular

The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago

Path of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanics

Alan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term ‘4X,’ has died

Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planet

Old meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skill

Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter

Fallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process

‘I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals