International Wafer-Level Packaging Conference (IWLPC) 2012 Keynote Announced

SMTA and Chip Scale Review Magazine are pleased to announce the keynote speaker for IWLPC 2012, November 5-8, 2012 in San Jose, CA. John Ellis, Author and CEO at Neodigm Press, CTO at Blue Mustang, will detail the very possible threat of cyber-physical terrorism in his presentation "A Trojan Chip in Your Smartphone? It's Coming..."

Figure 1: John Ellis, Author and CEO at Neodigm Press, CTO at Blue Mustang will present the keynote at IWLPC 2012.

For years there have been concerns about malicious circuits being used to disrupt our critical infrastructures. However, there was little chance that rogue chips could receive commands in the coordinated fashion required to cause serious damage. Social networks have changed all of that. Hacking a few, highly-followed, celebrity accounts would provide a perfect avenue for distributing 'self-destruct' codes to millions of Trojan chips. According to Ellis, a widespread, cyber-physical attack, which would have been almost impossible to pull off just a few years ago, could soon become reality.

Ellis's expertise in this area stems from his experience in semiconductor manufacturing and from his time working Sandia National Labs, where he focused on R&D projects for the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and other federal agencies. His experience includes nuclear weapons testing, missile guidance (Advanced Cruise Missile), air-borne and space-borne imaging systems (Predator UAV), and semiconductor manufacturing. Ellis also served as VP of technology at SEMI, where he was responsible for global semiconductor manufacturing standards. He holds a Master's in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas.

The premier industry event exploring leading-edge design, material, and process technologies focused on Wafer-Level Packaging applications, IWLPC 2012 will emphasize numerous device and end product applications (RF/wireless, sensors, mixed technology, optoelectronics) that demand wafer-level packaging solutions for integration, cost, and performance requirements. Visit http://www.iwlpc.com for more information