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Thunderstrike 2: World's First Firmware Worm That Infects Mac Computers Without Detection Tuesday

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<a class="url entry-title" href="http://www.hackthesec.co.in/2015/08/thunderstrike-2-worlds-first-firmware.html" itemprop="url" rel="bookmark" style="border: 0px; color: #3d5a99; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 28px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 48px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 3px 10px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Thunderstrike 2: World's First Firmware Worm That Infects Mac Computers Without Detection</a></h1>
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If you think Apple’s Mac computers are much more secure than Windows-powered systems, you need to think again. This isn’t true, and security researchers have finally proved it.</div>
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Two security researchers have developed a proof-of-concept computer worm for the first time that can spread automatically between MacBooks, without any need for them to be networked.</div>
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Dubbed <b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thunderstrike 2</u></b>, the new proof-of-concept firmware attack is inspired by previously developed proof-of-concept firmware called Thunderstrike.</div>
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Thunderstrike Attack, developed by security engineer Trammell Hudson, actually took advantage of a<b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">vulnerability in Thunderbolt Option ROM</i></b> that could be used to infect <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Apple Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)</i> by allocating a malicious code into the boot ROM of an Apple computer through infected Thunderbolt devices.<br style="content: " "; display: block; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></div>
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Thunderstrike 2 Spreads Remotely</h3>
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<br style="content: " "; display: block; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Although the original Thunderstrike required an attacker to have physical access to your Mac computer to work, the new attack can be spread remotely.</div>
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Thunderstrike 2 can be delivered via phishing emails, malicious Web site, as well as through a peripheral connected to the Ethernet port or USB.</div>
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After downloaded on a computer, Thunderstrike 2 can infect Thunderbolt-connected accessories that use Option ROM. After that, the malware can automatically spread to any Mac that you plug the accessory into.</div>
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Thunderstrike 2 is developed by two security researcher Trammell Hudson and Xeno Kovah of firmware security consultancy Legbacore. The researchers also demonstrated their attack, which you can watch in the video given below.<br style="content: " "; display: block; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></div>
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 Infects Mac Computers Without Detection</h3>
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Given the vicious worm, Thunderstrike 2, targets and lives in the firmware and can even evade a whole system reboot, it’s a real pain for the Mac users.</div>
<blockquote style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-left-color: rgb(191, 202, 218); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 8px; font-stretch: inherit; margin: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px; quotes: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
"<i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thunderstrike 2 is really hard to detect, it’s really hard to get rid of, and it’s really hard to protect against something that’s running inside the firmware,</i>" Kovah <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/08/researchers-create-first-firmware-worm-attacks-macs/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #3d5a99; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">told</a> Wired.</blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-left-color: rgb(191, 202, 218); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 8px; font-stretch: inherit; margin: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px; quotes: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
"<i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For most users that’s really a throw-your-machine-away kind of situation. Most people and organizations don’t have the wherewithal to physically open up their machine and electrically reprogram the chip.</i>"</blockquote>
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Many of the firmware vulnerabilities discovered by the researchers to develop Thunderstrike 2 are common to most EFI firmware. A total of six vulnerabilities affected PCs from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and others.</div>
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Five firmware vulnerabilities also affected the Mac's firmware, and of those, Apple has fully patched one flaw, partially patched another, and failed to patch the rests.</div>
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The researchers plan to present their findings at the <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Black Hat</i> and <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Def Con security conferences</i> in Las Vegas this week.</div>
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Thunderstrike 2: World's First Firmware Worm That Infects Mac Computers Without Detection Tuesday

Thunderstrike 2: World's First Firmware Worm That Infects Mac Computers Without Detection If you think Apple’s Mac computers are much more secure than Windows-powered systems, you need to think again…

05 Aug 2015