REAFFIRM: Reverse Engineer, Analyze, and Fix Firmware

Current testing of cyber-physical systems, such as avionics systems, is limited by resources available for test events. Often resources are limited quantity and critical for subsequent operational testing and training. Risks of causing an irrecoverable hardware failure or fault are unacceptable and typically avoided in the test plan. The ability to virtualize all or portions of the cyber-physical system would greatly expand the realm of possible cyber testing scenarios.We will deliver REAFFIRM: a tool that analyzes embedded firmware (the software that runs on cyber-physical systems) and allows analysts to select components (pieces of functionality) to virtualize for use in a test environment that does not rely on the operating system or hardware of the original system. REAFFIRM will enable the government to create virtual versions of the cyber portions of cyber-physical systems. Users will be able to test and explore cyber behaviors of avionics and embedded weapon systems in depth, without the risk of breaking the system under test or causing unintended physical consequences.We have presented the technology underlying REAFFIRM to several US Government customers, garnering consistent interest. We propose to mature this technology, add features to improve analyst productivity, support more platforms, and enable deeper security assessments.