IPA IP 2023 Question 85
A question IPA Japan published in 令和5年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問85, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2026 Q21 +1 more
Which of the following is a technology that is also used in measures against tampering of software in IoT devices and verifies the digital signature of the OS, firmware, or other such software when it is started, and only executes the software if the verification is successful?
Explanation
Secure boot — at start-up each piece of software is run only after its digital signature has been verified.
When the device powers on, a trusted component held in protected memory checks the digital signature of the next stage (boot loader, firmware, OS) with the vendor's public key. If the signature verifies, that stage is run and checks the next one in turn, forming a chain of trust. If someone has altered the software, the signature no longer matches and the device refuses to run it. This is why it is used against tampering with IoT devices, which are often left unattended.
Answer (c)
Why not others:
- •(a) GPU — a processor specialised in image processing and parallel computation; it checks nothing at start-up
- •(b) RAID — combines several disks into one unit for speed or redundancy against disk failure
- •(d) Reboot — simply restarts the device; it loads whatever software is installed, tampered or not
Key rule: A digital signature proves integrity and origin; secure boot applies that check to every stage of start-up, so tampered software never gets control.
Security · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.