Do we really need Anti Tamper Real Time Clock?

We all know that old saying that Time is Money, and if you don’t care about your time, chances are that you might end up losing a lot of money. Now, that’s virtually true. Of course many of us are not aware about the RTC or better known as Real Time Clock which we use in applications and softwares for utility metering, HVAC, security alarms, point of sale machines, ATM vending machines, and other security related tools. However, hackers are well aware of how to bend the rules and how to extract information from such security devices simply by tweaking the time and by fooling the system.

A hacker can simply change the Real Time Clock crystal that generally relies on 32.768 kHz external crystal oscillator and can work his way out or into the system without being noticed. Today many electricity distributing companies have equipments that do energy metering based on time of the day, and hence it is very important that we keep the metering under constant check so that no one tampers it.

Also, if you are online you might see various software products that offer a limited trial period to their users after which they need to purchase the product if they like it. Hackers, who know how to change the Real Time Clock, reverse the time back just a day before the expiry day so that they get additional time to use the software for free and they keep doing this and use the software for free indefinitely.

Many hackers hack into the system and manipulate the time to fool the system and change the time period from AM to PM to make sure that there is no evidence left in the system to trace their footsteps.