Over the past two decades, globalized outsourcing in the semiconductor supply chain has lowered manufacturing costs and shortened the time-to-market for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). However, such outsourcing has rendered the printed circuit boards (PCBs) vulnerable to malicious activities and alterations on a global scale. In this article, we take an in-depth look into one such attack, called the “Big Hack,” that was recently reported by Bloomberg Buisnessweek. The article provides background on the Big Hack from three perspectives: an attacker, a security investigator, and the societal impacts. This study provides details on vulnerabilities in the modern PCB supply chain, the possible attacks, and the existing and emerging countermeasures. The necessity for novel visual inspection techniques for PCB assurance is emphasized throughout the article. Further, a review of various imaging modalities, image analysis algorithms, and open research challenges are provided for automated visual inspection.

中文翻译：

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大黑客解释

在过去的二十年中，半导体供应链中的全球化外包降低了制造成本并缩短了原始设备制造商 (OEM) 的上市时间。然而，这种外包使印刷电路板 (PCB) 容易受到全球范围内的恶意活动和更改的影响。在本文中，我们深入研究了彭博商业周刊最近报道的一种此类攻击，称为“大黑客”。本文从三个角度提供了 Big Hack 的背景：攻击者、安全调查员和社会影响。本研究详细介绍了现代 PCB 供应链中的漏洞、可能的攻击以及现有和新兴的对策。整篇文章都强调了为确保 PCB 采用新颖的目视检查技术的必要性。此外，还提供了对自动视觉检查的各种成像模式、图像分析算法和开放研究挑战的回顾。