New
#1
Interesting and enlightening read!
Chinese hackers may be using malware that can survive Windows OS reinstalls to spy on computers.
Security firm Kaspersky Lab uncovered the malware, which exploits a computer’s UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) to continually persist on a Windows machine.
Attacking the UEFI is pretty alarming because the software is used to boot up your computer and load the operating system. It also operates separately from your computer’s main hard drive, and usually resides in the motherboard’s SPI flash memory as firmware. As a result, any malicious process embedded in the UEFI can survive an operating system reinstall while evading traditional antivirus solutions. ..
Read more: Suspected Chinese Hackers Unleash Malware That Can Survive OS Reinstalls
Ah yes... the old BIOS (UEFI) infection, trick. I would assume that flashing the BIOS would fix that, but who really knows.
Hi there
some of this stuff is just sheer "Panic Features" or "Project Fear" again. !!
Most Chinese hackers aren't interested in "Mom and Pop" domestic computers -- scamming is infinitely more profitable and so are attacks against Infra structure and mega large corporations of countries and entities that the P.R.C deems to be unfriendly to its aims or interests -- the recent attack on the British Health service was a prime example of that sort of approach (mind you had they had computers at the time of say "The US war of independence - finished 1776" - then even those would make that Nation's (UK) health service computers look like things from the age of the dinosaur --
Most BIOS'es are strictly Read only and flashing them is usually done under control of aspecial boot up program - not under OS control.
I'm sure latest updates to Ms's Windows defender will be on the case -- they can do these things far quicker than any 3rd party domestic / consumer grade Anti Virus package.
100% Nothing to worry about folks if you regularly apply security updates.
Cheers
jimbo
Uh-oh. But I think this is mostly a concern for corporate environments and not much for regular home users.