Engineers working on the lab at Xerox PARC recently announced that they have developed a new kind of microchip that self-destructs on command. This new breakthrough technology was developed in collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
According to PC Magazine, the self-destruction microchips could help safeguard sensitive and top-secret data from being compromised or stolen. The chip was developed by the vanishing programmable resources project of DARPA. The project helps in developing technology that will vastly improve current data security measures.
Xerox PARC senior scientist Gregory Whiting told PC World, "The applications we are interested in are data security and things like that. WE really wanted to come up with a system that was very rapid and compatible with commercial electronics."
The self-destructing chip is made with Corning Gorilla Glass, which is the same material used by most smartphone manufacturers to protect the devices' screens. By integrating a small resistor into the chip that heats up on command, the chip can self-destruct in just a matter of 10 seconds. After reaching critical temperatures, the glass breaks into thousands of pieces and all the stored data on the chip are practically unrecoverable.
The resistor built into the chip can be activated by either a laser or through radio signals. This allows the chip to be destroyed remotely.
The PARC chip is currently a working concept or a prototype. The developers of the chip have yet to consider any practical application the chip might have in the real world. Still, many experts especially those concerned about data security are positive that the new technology will bring information security into a whole new level.