Advancing Hardware Reverse Engineering

The third edition of the Hardware Reverse Engineering Workshop (HARRIS 2025) took place on March 17-18 in Bochum, Germany, bringing together experts from academia, industry, and government to exchange knowledge, discuss challenges, and foster collaborations in the field of hardware reverse engineering. Hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP), the cluster of excellence CASA, and the Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security (RC Trust), the event featured engaging research talks, insightful keynotes, and dynamic networking sessions.

The two-day workshop welcomed participants to an extensive program, including six topic sessions with 18 accepted talks covering a broad spectrum of hardware security and reverse engineering topics. The event’s highlights included two distinguished keynote speakers: Andrew Zonenberg (IOActive), who presented on “Extracting Antifuse Secrets from the RP2350 by FIB PVC,” and Andrew ‘bunnie’ Huang, who discussed “Improving Trust in Supply Chains: Translating Research Into Everyday-Use Techniques.”

Beyond the technical sessions, HARRIS 2025 offered ample opportunities for interaction and collaboration. Attendees engaged in structured networking activities, such as research speed-dating sessions (“Rapid Research Rendezvous”) and topic table discussions, allowing them to connect with peers from diverse backgrounds. Coffee and lunch breaks, as well as an enjoyable group dinner, further facilitated discussions and relationship-building among participants.

A special highlight of this year’s event was the novel approach to networking through collectible custom-designed HARRIS-branded stickers. These stickers, distributed at various points during the workshop, featured different themes and designs. Participants were encouraged to trade them, much like a collectible card game, fostering spontaneous interactions and serving as playful icebreakers.

The engaging discussions, high-quality research presentations, and collaborative spirit demonstrated throughout the workshop reaffirmed the growing importance of hardware reverse engineering in today’s security landscape.

 “The success of HARRIS 2025 was made possible by the contributions of our speakers, sponsors, and dedicated organizers. We look forward to continuing this tradition and furthering our collective efforts in advancing the field. Stay tuned for updates on the next edition of HARRIS, and we hope to see you again in 2026!” says Christof Paar, one of the organizers of HARRIS 2025 and founding director of MPI-SP.

(Text: Julian Speith, Steffen Becker, René Walendy)