There ’s plenty of reasons not to leave your laptop computer unattended , but a Dutch investigator has found yet another . With just a screwdriver and five minutes alone with your data processor , a cyber-terrorist could potentially take advantage of your Thunderbolt port to read and imitate all your datum — regardless of whether it ’s encrypted , locked , or rig to sleep .
The method , nickname Thunderspy , was detail in areportreleased by Björn Ruytenberg , a researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology . The issue is that Thunderbolt ports are PCIe - based , entail they have Direct Memory Access ( DMA ) and can grant a drudge direct access to your arrangement ’s memory with a peripheral gadget . In what ’s call an “ malign maid approach ” . All a high-risk actor would have to do is unscrew a backplate , seize a peripheral , reprogram the firmware , reattach the backplate , and voila . That tough thespian now has full access to the electronic computer . you may find out a video of the Thunderspy method , and chillingly , it only ingest about five minutes in total .
While the outlined method does take someone to physically remove a laptop computer ’s backplate , it ’s disturbing because it can completely bypass best security practices like Secure Boot , a inviolable BIOS and OS password , and full disk encryption . Thunderspy is also stealthy , have in mind it leave no trace that someone ’s tampered with your information processing system . It also expect nothing from the potential victim — no phishing link to flick , no malware to download , etc .
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https://gizmodo.com/hacking-attacks-against-corporations-have-more-the-doub-1842921265
Thunderspy affects Thunderbolt 1 , 2 , and 3 , and in asummary web log , Ruytenberg notes seven specific vulnerability that could lead to nine “ hardheaded using scenarios . ” What ’s troubling is that Eindhoven research worker say the vulnerabilities ca n’t be fixed via a software patch , and could potentially affect future criterion like the coming USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 . As for systems impacted , Ruytenberg says Thunderspy involve all Thunderbolt - fit out Windows and Linux computers transport between 2011 and 2020 . Meanwhile , Macs , according to Ruytenberg ’s report , are only part touch on when using MacOS . Apple told Eindhoven researcher that it had optednot to fixthe Thunderspy exposure as it mainly impacts Mac computers when running Windows or Linux via the Boot Camp utility .
Ruytenberg shared his Thunderspy findings with Intel three month ago . Intel is the primary developer of Thunderbolt tech now ( it initially developed it with Apple ) andtold himit would “ not furnish any mitigations to accost the Thunderspy vulnerability , ” include release public advisories to inform the general public . However , Intel did write ablog addressing Thunderspy , enunciate it had set up the issue in 2019 followingThunderclap , a Thunderbolt computer peripheral vulnerability pick up last year , via a security mechanism called Kernal Direct Memory Access . It also apprise that people only use “ trusted peripherals ” and prevent “ unauthorised forcible access code ” to computers .
It ’s great if your reckoner has Kernal Direct Memory Access shelter , but the trouble is that you wo n’t find it on computers made prior to 2019 . That , and it ’s likely you wo n’t find it on some computers that shipped after 2019 either . harmonize toWired , no Dell computer has it , including those that ship after 2019 . Some laptop that do include the HP EliteBook and ZBook 2019 , the Lenovo ’s ThinkPad P53 , X1 Carbon 2019 , and Yoga C940s with Ice Lake CPUs .
So long as you do n’t leave your laptop unattended or in the hands of nutcase , the average person should n’t start freaking out . In general , this intend you should n’t lend your Thunderbolt peripheral equipment to anyone , nor should you go forth your computing equipment on sleep when neglected — even if your screen ’s locked . But if you ’re worried , Eindhoven researchers have developed a free , open - source tool calledSpycheckthat can help you determine if your computer is vulnerable and what to do to protect it . Meanwhile , the really paranoid may feel good if they disable their Thunderbolt ports completely .
We ’ve reach out out to Intel , Apple , and other laptop maker for additional comment , and will update when we hear back .
Intel
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