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We developed a system, we are delivering it with raspberry PI to client. Our system is like admin panel, so Raspberry pi will work as Local server.

For Our code security, we want to remove all USB ports from raspberry PI 3/2, and remove HDMI port as well. Raspberry pi gives us a facility to remove SD card, so how can we consolidate it with raspberry PI ?

In nutshell:

1. How to remove/Block HDMI ?

2. How to remove/Block all USB ports ?

3. How to consolidate SD card in Raspberry PI so that no one can unplug it ?

System Configuration: Os: Ubuntu Mate 16 SDcard: 32 GB SDHC PI Version: PI-2 and Pi-3

If anyone could help me with this, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

JK Patel
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    Possible duplicate of Air-gapping the Raspberry Pi 3 – goobering Jun 16 '16 at 12:43
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    In the old days we used superglue to block usb ports and floppy disks. As for the SD card I don't know of any foolproof solution. Because you are not in charge of the physical security of the Pi, any solution will yield given enough time. – Steve Robillard Jun 16 '16 at 12:44
  • @SteveRobillard We are thinking as you think, but need to know that material name to adhere sd card forever – JK Patel Jun 16 '16 at 12:53
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    Try desoldering one...I think I've read people here saying they broke the HDMI loose and the rest still works. The USB may be more iffy but I'm sure someone has at least tried if you search around. If you are developing a product for a client, the most you have to lose testing that is one pi. WRT to gluing, epoxy is non-conductive, easier to use, and probably more durable than superglue. – goldilocks Jun 16 '16 at 12:59
  • ...If you scroll down to the electronics section of that wikipedia page there is a great pic of an entire board sealed with epoxy. It is also cheap; blocking those ports with it will probably cost you < 10 cents/unit. Just leave lots of windows open unless you want a mostly unpleasant high ;) The chemical smell may take a couple of days to wear off the product. WRT to the SD card, if you coat enough of the board that way, someone may be able to remove it but they will render everything useless when they do. – goldilocks Jun 16 '16 at 13:04
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    Be cautious about the properties of epoxy for sealing electronics. It heats while curing, then shrinks as it cools. This shrinkage can pull components off boards! Make sure you use something with low shrinkage, or apply a layer of silicone first to provide some cushioning between the epoxy and the components. In very warm climates, particularly where electronics are involved, epoxy can de-cure if its usage temperature exceeds its original curing temperature, leading to (at best) some sticky messes. – goobering Jun 16 '16 at 13:14
  • @goldilocks Thanks. epoxy will work for SDcards, Now need some surety about disoldering USB and HDMI. will RPI work without it? – JK Patel Jun 16 '16 at 13:16
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    See: http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/31884/raspberry-b-remove-usb-ports – goobering Jun 16 '16 at 13:26
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    Aside from the encapsulation issue, be aware that the Raspberry Pi 2 & 3's ethernet port is driven from the LAN9514 USB controller. If you disable USB in software, the ethernet port will also likely disappear. – scruss Jun 16 '16 at 13:42
  • What are you doing that requires such amazing security? If you put the device in someone else's hands, any security measures you can enact on the RPi are worthless. – Jacobm001 Jun 16 '16 at 15:42
  • @Jacobm001, we know that, our all effort are worthless if we put the device in someone else hand, but to protect our system, we shouldn't do any try ? if we can implement above three point completely, then normal ma/Learner programmer can't think to theft, so we can achieve some prevention, not complete. Hope you will have answer :) do you have any idea about how to secure the device& its data, if we put the device in someone's hand ? – JK Patel Jun 17 '16 at 04:59
  • @scruss if we de-soldering only all USB port and HDMI port, then it will impact on Ethernet port ? – JK Patel Jun 17 '16 at 05:02
  • @all, We want a hardware which have LAN/WIFI Connectivity only, we need Os which supports PHP(Apache/ngix), MySQL, NodeJS & Redis. We are not strictly adhere with ubuntu and RPI. If you know another device which provide this facility with security then We are ready to use it.:) – JK Patel Jun 17 '16 at 05:20

1 Answers1

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To the best of my knowledge it's absolutely fine to (carefully) de-solder the HDMI and USB sockets from the Pi. Several people have documented this procedure, including the exceedingly well respected Adafruit, and similar questions have come up on this board in the past.

Per scruss's comment above it may also be possible to disable the USB controller in software, but doing so might disable your ethernet controller. If you do this after removing your physical sockets you will no longer be able to provide any inputs to the Pi (no USB WiFi, no ethernet, no keyboard, etc.) so be careful. Plan out the steps required beforehand and make sure you've always left yourself a way to issue commands.

A common solution to the removable media issue is to use epoxy to either seal up a socket, glue something into a socket (USB stick, SD card, etc.), or encapsulate an entire board (also known as potting). This works well and is widely used in industry. If you plan on trying this yourself, be aware that epoxy is generally a two part formula which, when mixed, causes an exothermic reaction. It gets hot. If your ambient temperature is already high this additional heat can push your components over their tolerance limits. Further to this, the maximum temperature reached during curing is the epoxy's 'set' point. If the epoxy cures fully and then is reheated beyond the curing temperature it will de-solidify until it's cooled again. Test everything very carefully before trying to sell it to anyone.

Finally, epoxy shrinks and hardens as it cures. The force exerted by the epoxy on the components can be enough to pull them off their traces. As, at that point, they're under a layer of nigh-on-invincible plasticky stuff, that results in a dead board. It may be practical to apply and cure a layer of (non-conductive, non-corrosive) silicone before applying the epoxy, as the silicone isn't quite so grabby.

There are many formulations of epoxy which have been developed specifically to have low-shrinkage, low conductivity, and lower viscosity to allow them to flow more easily into small spaces on PCBs. Make sure to read up thoroughly on the properties of whatever you choose.

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