Soft-Wired Radio Web Machine Malware Immunity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional 4G software-defined radio (SDR) devices are vulnerable to malware attacks due to their Turing-equivalent architecture, which allows uncontrolled states and sequences of instructions, leading to cybersecurity inefficiencies and potential cybercrimes, as existing cybersecurity measures like hardware roots of trust, sandboxes, and anti-virus have been unable to provide a permanent solution.
Innovation Solution
The Soft Wired Radio (SWR) Web Machine employs domain-specific user-defined parallel pipelined learning machines configured in circuitry, such as FPGAs or ASICs, that preclude malware entry and transmission, using hardwired immutability and self-checking mechanisms to validate and process radio signals within defined domains, eliminating the need for an operating system and random access memory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional 4G SDR devices use Turing-equivalent architecture with operating systems and random access memory, then device versatility and programmability are improved, but vulnerability to malware attacks increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the problematic Turing-equivalent components (operating system, random access memory, general-purpose processor) from the SDR device architecture. By taking out these elements that enable malware execution, the system eliminates the root cause of vulnerability while preserving essential radio functionality through domain-specific hardware circuits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the SDR functionality into separate domain-specific hardware modules (RF front-end, baseband processing, protocol handling) rather than using a monolithic software-based system. This segmentation isolates each function to dedicated circuits that cannot be compromised by malware, while maintaining overall system versatility through modular design.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional SDR devices use software-based processing with operating systems, then adaptability to different radio protocols is improved, but cybersecurity efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing domain-specific hardware circuits tailored to each radio protocol and processing function. Each hardware module has specialized properties optimized for its specific task (e.g., FFT processing, modulation/demodulation, error correction), eliminating the need for generic software that can be exploited by malware while maintaining protocol adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of computation from software-based (instruction sets, operating systems) to hardware-based (fixed logic circuits, finite state machines). This parameter change enables direct implementation of radio protocols in hardware, providing both adaptability through reconfigurable hardware and security through elimination of software execution vulnerabilities.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional devices use general-purpose processors with operating systems, then functional flexibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the complex software layer (operating system, device drivers, application software) from the system architecture. By taking out these complexity-inducing elements, the device achieves functional flexibility through domain-specific hardware design rather than software programming, significantly reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the mechanical/software-based control system (processor-execution model) with a hardware-based control system (circuit-implemented logic). This substitution replaces the complex interaction between hardware and software with direct hardware-to-hardware signal processing, eliminating software complexity while maintaining functional flexibility through hardware reconfiguration.
Data Source
AI summary
A domain-specific hardwired symbolic communications machine is described that processes information via the hardwired mapping of symbols from one or more domains onto other such domains, computing and communicating with improved security and reduced power consumption because it has no CPU, no Random Access Memory (RAM), no instruction registers, no Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), no operating system (OS) and no applications programming. The machine provides web services by recognizing valid requests based on the processing of symbols and the validating of those symbols according to various domains. In some embodiments the requests may conform or be related to, for example, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), or fourth generation (4G) wireless technology. Further, in some embodiments, the machine has no unconstrained RAM into which malware may insert itself and needs no anti-virus software.