Vulnerability in BIOS being used to gain access
Vulnerability in BIOS being used to gain access
Thanks for your insights. I was under the impression that many would still invest effort in these tactics, particularly if automation was possible. What draws them in are the possibilities for widespread infection and data theft. Botnets, lateral movement, transitioning from personal devices to corporate networks, stealing sensitive information—all factors that seem appealing. I even suspect the NSA might be involved, given their long history of illegal data collection and repeated false claims.
If skilled hackers can leverage such techniques for espionage, it makes sense they would do so. The tools they developed are impressive and now in the hands of criminals and state actors. It’s reassuring to know Shadowbrokers shared their methods openly, which could aid law enforcement.
Regarding the GPU passthrough, I’m not entirely sure what you meant by it. I’d appreciate clarification on that point.
As for the methods discussed, daily hacking of default passwords is common, so that likely isn’t the focus here. I’m not sure about the ESP implications either—refreshing or upgrading doesn’t seem sufficient unless it specifically targets ESP.
A high-level format would likely erase the ESP, while a low-level format could strip partitions and data at the storage level. This approach can render most information unrecoverable, though repeated zeroing or strong magnetic treatment might be needed.
A specific motherboard reference isn’t clear to me—whether it means a particular model or just one unit.
I appreciate your patience as I worked through this. Your explanation helps clarify the situation.
The concept requires fully virtualizing the current host using whatever resources are available. If the hardware includes a GPU, you must route that to the guest OS seamlessly, just like with other peripherals. Everything needs to run smoothly without the user noticing. From gaining admin access to logging failures, to adding another payload that delivers value—it’s a complicated process. Probably not practical. Simply remove the partition and start fresh (a clean install already achieves this), and you’re good. Model, understood. No worries! This was a great conversation. Let me know if you’d like to continue.
Well, I don't know - I've heard enough true stories now about hacks to know that some hackers will go to any lengths to achieve their goals, and not all of them are nation-state hackers or elite hackers. Some of them do it for the power, others for greed, some are hacktivists...Lots of different ones. Sure, it's more complicated, but there are complex chain hacks done on a regular basis. For example, not too long ago multiple MSPs were hacked so that the Chinese government could hack into the DOD. They went through the MSPs to get to all the companies they served, and hacked each company in an MSP to try to see if they had any direct connections to DOD networks. Eventually, they found some and stole over 100,000 details of military personnel, including social security numbers.