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from the phsyical-access-==-you-lose,-eventually dept.
Thunderspy, as its creator Björn Ruytenberg has named the attack, in most cases requires the attacker to remove the screws from the computer casing. From there, the attacker locates the Thunderbolt chip and connects a clip, which in turn is connected to a series of commodity components—priced about $600—which is connected to an attacker laptop. These devices analyze the current Thunderbolt firmware and then reflash it with a version that's largely the same except that it disables any of the Intel-developed security features that are turned on.
[...] "There are seriously tons and tons of things you can do to a PC once you open the case," says Hector Martin, an independent security researcher with extensive experience in hacking or reverse-engineering the Nintendo Wii, several generations of the Sony PlayStation, and other devices with strong defenses against physical attacks. "The evil maid threat model is interesting when you restrict it to plugging things into ports, because that can be done very quickly when e.g. the target is just looking away."
[...] Readers who are left wondering how big a threat Thunderspy poses should remember that the high bar of this attack makes it highly unlikely it will ever be actively used in real-world settings, except, perhaps, for the highest-value targets coveted by secretive spy agencies. Whichever camp has a better case, nothing will change that reality.
Previously: https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=20/05/11/1721247
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 15 2020, @12:19AM (3 children)
I don't understand people making this claim. This is a step in the development of this attack. Who's to say this won't be improved upon or influence the design of a better attack? Steve Gibson may be an alarmist idiot in some areas, but a good quote from him is "Attacks never get worse, they only get better".
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday May 15 2020, @05:31PM (2 children)
While I agree about Steve Gibson (as I was once a classic mac developer), whether an attack gets worse or better depends on the perspective of which end of the attack you are on.
Consider a 60 cal. machine gun. (used for home defense, of course) An improvement in how this machine works is either worse or better depending on which end of it you are facing. This is also true of an undesirable downgrade to the weapon, it is either worse or better.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 1) by tedd on Saturday May 16 2020, @08:17AM
Do you have anything to add rather than argue on semantics? Obviously, "better" is viewed in the perspective of the attacker. When would you describe an attack as 'better' with repect to the victim? Other, better adjectives are available.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 17 2020, @11:09AM
Personally speaking, for home defense I'd rather use a 60 cal than a 7.65, as the 7.65 may ricochet, and as I think most attacks will cease at the first 60cal round exploded.