Kaspersky Lab uncovers a suite of surveillance platforms that hide in hard drive firmware

Security researchers at Kaspersky Lab have unearthed a suite of surveillance platforms that can hide within the firmware of hard drives from more than a dozen manufacturers. The attackers, which Kaspersky is calling the Equation Group due to their complex skill set, are the most advanced that the researchers have encountered to date.

The programs, some of which date back to 2001, appear to have been developed in succession with each new program being more sophisticated than the last according to Wired.

Personal computers in more than 30 different countries have been discovered to carry the infection, Kaspersky said.

Kaspersky Lab uncovers a suite of surveillance platforms that hide in hard drive firmware




Seems the ways in which malware can be introduced onto our systems these days are becoming more numerous and sophisticated.

The question that springs to mind regarding this variation is how do we detect or remove the beast in question? Will it require a re-flash of the hard drives firmware? And if so will that prevent future iterations or similar types of malware from infection by the same manner?

Abandon ship! Discussion already well underway here:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

ps its nothing new firmware has always been vulnerable

a reply to: funkadeliaaaa

I did use the search function to no avail it seems before posting. Cheers for bringing it to my attention.

Hmmm, I watched a vid about a year ago that showed the alphabets were behind this. They were even caught intercepting laptops etc while being delivered and they moulded chips into the plastic casing so that they couldnt be seen.
Just like most antivirus programs, firmware too has a back door for the agencies.

Please use the ongoing thread, here.

Thread closed.