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F-Secure: Most Modern Computers Vulnerable to New Cold Boot Attack

Accepted submission by takyon at 2018-09-13 20:24:45
Security

Security flaw in 'nearly all' modern PCs and Macs exposes encrypted data [techcrunch.com] - A firmware bug means existing security measures "aren't enough to protect data in lost or stolen laptops," says new security research

Most modern computers, even devices with disk encryption, are vulnerable to a new attack that can steal sensitive data in a matter of minutes, new research says. In new findings published Wednesday, F-Secure said that none of the existing firmware security measures in every laptop it tested "does a good enough job" of preventing data theft.

F-Secure principal security consultant Olle Segerdahl told TechCrunch that the vulnerabilities put "nearly all" laptops and desktops — both Windows and Mac users — at risk. The new exploit is built on the foundations of a traditional cold boot attack, which hackers have long used to steal data from a shut-down computer. Modern computers overwrite their memory when a device is powered down to scramble the data from being read. But Segerdahl and his colleague Pasi Saarinen found a way to disable the overwriting process, making a cold boot attack possible again.

"It takes some extra steps," said Segerdahl, but the flaw is "easy to exploit." So much so, he said, that it would "very much surprise" him if this technique isn't already known by some hacker groups. "We are convinced that anybody tasked with stealing data off laptops would have already come to the same conclusions as us," he said.

It's no secret that if you have physical access to a computer, the chances of someone stealing your data is usually greater. That's why so many use disk encryption — like BitLocker for Windows and FileVault for Macs — to scramble and protect data when a device is turned off. But the researchers found that in nearly all cases they can still steal data protected by BitLocker and FileVault regardless.

[...] Their findings were shared with Microsoft, Apple, and Intel prior to release. According to the researchers, only a smattering of devices aren't affected by the attack. Microsoft said in a recently updated article [microsoft.com] on BitLocker countermeasures that using a startup PIN can mitigate cold boot attacks, but Windows users with "Home" licenses are out of luck. And, any Apple Mac equipped with a T2 chip [apple.com] are not affected, but a firmware password would still improve protection.

In the meantime, don't let the feds seize your systems.

F-Secure blog post [f-secure.com].


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