Purism Eyeing The i.MX8M For The Librem 5 Smartphone, Issues First Status Update

[pal666]

well, if you can reverse-engineer cpu, then you can do same with modem, problem solved
if cpu lacks hardware to send data to nsa, then no program running on that cpu can send data to nsa, so all your software is secure by definition. that's holy grail of security
if you can notice unusual traffic originated from cpu, you can do same with traffic originated from modem. again no difference
i am not proposing to make your own cpu, though i'm not against that either. i am trying to explain that your security is as good as weakest link, so fixation on modem is pointless

[ilmaisin]

well, if you can reverse-engineer cpu,

Umm...are you really comparing those steaming piles of garbage known as baseband modems to some kind of theorethical threats? The modem can of course be reverse engineered, but reverse engineering is no good for actually fixing the problems.

Even if we knew exactly what was wrong with a specific baseband modem, we can't just fix it. Replacing the firmware is not an option due to RF regulatory issues. The only thing we can do is to limit the consequences of a breach by isolating the modem.