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Snowden Documentation: Your Motherboard Is Spying On You

FunkyFeatures
By FunkyFeatures
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Go to solution Solved by colonel_mortis,

This is old news, and the article is not strictly accurate. Here is an article about the same news from two years ago (Jan 2014), which explains it much better and more truthfully: http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/close-look-nsa-monitor-catalog-server-hacking/

Notably:

  • It only affects a few specific models of server from OEMs
  • It requires physical access to the server, to flash the BIOS and install the vulnerability
  • It probably wouldn't work on newer servers due to additional security features of modern motherboards

The actual original source for the story posted here is http://chronicle.su/2014/08/17/snowden-unveils-nsa-god-mode-malware-that-lives-on-your-motherboard-and-can-not-be-traced/ (from August 2014). It has recently been copied by several other sites, despite no longer actually being news.

Posted
  • Author

Sadly, you're in the majority. If people would still actually get pissed about things, we wouldn't be having these problems.

The thing is, with no progress in over a year, people eventually give up. As seen with Counter Strike (for anyone who hasn't been following they added dumb things to the game without listening to the community) yelling helps nothing, eventually the wave of "rollback" or "stahp or riot" will calm down.

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Posted

I call BS. Most BIOS' don't even support ethernet connections, let alone collecting and sending user information over the internet.

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

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Posted

There's a spot reserved for him in the ninth circle, he can share those spots with Judas, Brutus and Cassius.

Are you just trolling or are you going to actually make a point about exactly what Snowden has done wrong in your opinion?

      

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Posted

You used the word "riot" on the internet

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

...drone strike incoming

Nope to populated, also in the US, so if they did it would be a real cause for mass rioting

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/ Tier Breakdown (My understanding)--1 Godly, 2 Great, 3 Good, 4 Average, 5 Meh, 6 Bad, 7 Awful

 

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Posted

Snowden can go rot to hell.

 

How diluted are you?

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Posted

Nope to populated, also in the US, so if they did it would be a real cause for mass rioting

well they've already executed US citizens abroad without a trial, so this wouldn't really be that much of a stretch for them  ;) (btw, I was kinda joking)

      

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Posted

There's a spot reserved for him in the ninth circle, he can share those spots with Judas, Brutus and Cassius.

I honestly don't feel Brutus should even be there honestly, the other two well yeah, but Brutus simply valued senatorial rule over his personal feelings for Julius

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/ Tier Breakdown (My understanding)--1 Godly, 2 Great, 3 Good, 4 Average, 5 Meh, 6 Bad, 7 Awful

 

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Posted

What will be the next discovery of NSA spying, do you even care about it anymore? Do you think it will ever stop?

I personally think that this is a step too far, but in the end there is nothing we can do about it, the difference is only that we now know what is going on, maybe it has been doing this for quite a few years. I stopped caring personally. I have nothing to hide, if they want to know my fetish, sure go ahead, and I am almost certain it will never stop.

Ya same, I've pretty much accepted it as a reality and have kind of stopped caring. As long as everyone's affected (it would be unsettling if I was singled out) I don't mind, as I don't think it will affect my life in a significant way.

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Posted

well they've already executed US citizens abroad without a trial, so this wouldn't really be that much of a stretch for them  ;) (btw, I was kinda joking)

Yeah I figured but I threw it out there to express the idea that the government should know their place or they will not maintain rule. They need to stop their corrupt and shady ways or they will lose the support of everyone.

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/ Tier Breakdown (My understanding)--1 Godly, 2 Great, 3 Good, 4 Average, 5 Meh, 6 Bad, 7 Awful

 

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Posted

Ya same, I've pretty much accepted it as a reality and have kind of stopped caring. As long as everyone's affected (it would be unsettling if I was singled out) I don't mind, as I don't think it will affect my life in a significant way.

You think the government collecting massive amounts of information on you has no potential to affect your life in the future? Let's just say that they wouldn't be spending billions of dollars to spy on you if they didn't intend to do something with the data.

      

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Posted

or they will lose the support of everyone.

They already have, if you count approval ratings as evidence. And what has it led to? People now no longer vote. Which doesn't exactly help solve the problem.

      

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Posted

Solution: reflash bios at boot like I do >.>

 

and don't use sketchy EPROM's with hidden MITM Asics 

 

Im not surprised at all TBH

Want a good game to play?  Check out Shadowrun: http://store.steampowered.com/app/300550/ (runs on literally any hardware)

 

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Posted

You think the government collecting massive amounts of information on you has no potential to affect your life in the future? Let's just say that they wouldn't be spending billions of dollars to spy on you if they didn't intend to do something with the data.

 

Sure they might do something with the data, but what I'm saying is that whatever they do to it, will apply to everyone which makes the impact less disrupting to me as an individual (imo).

I'm not saying i dont mind that they're doing this, I still value my privacy and rights, but i don't see there's much i can do besides my usual duties as a citizen (voting, etc.). So I have accepted it.

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Posted

Ok...I'll be off learning how to decompile EFI and program for it.

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Posted

you will not be able to tell that the computer system has been infected with this vulnerability because since the only way to do it would require a keen eye, and a very expensive electron microscope

 

Bahahahaha

029b49eb3cd591c358591388625448ed.jpg

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Posted

This stinks to the high heavens. "Even the most tech savvy won't know". Really? Because if its sending data somewhere, my router has to be able to see it. If its able to cache EVERYTHING i've done offline, and send it the moment i am online, it has to be stored somewhere. Can't be memory, because that would be flushed upon power loss. Can't be in the bios, not enough space. Meaning it has to be stored on my disk somewhere, which would mean i would be able to detect it.

 

This looks like scare tactics to me. I need more proof before I believe this.

My (incomplete) memory overclocking guide: 

 

Does memory speed impact gaming performance? Click here to find out!

On 1/2/2017 at 9:32 PM, MageTank said:

Sometimes, we all need a little inspiration.

 

 

 

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Posted

am i gonna get done for pirating games????

 

/s

they are probably focusing on the people distributing the games 

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Posted

+1 paranoia. True or not, I'm still a little shaken.

 

Right, I'm packing up and moving to the middle of the desert with no technology or communication devices. Anyone wanna tag along?

 

statistics have shown that armed american forces and their bombs like to show up in deserts too, might want to rethink that

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Posted

they are probably focusing on the people distributing the games 

Hollywood is the more likely ones to press DMCA crap, games not so much, movies are another story, especially if that sadistic mouse is invloved

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/ Tier Breakdown (My understanding)--1 Godly, 2 Great, 3 Good, 4 Average, 5 Meh, 6 Bad, 7 Awful

 

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Posted

they are probably focusing on the people distributing the games 

did you see the "/s"?

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Posted

I'd be very surprised if the NSA's nefarious activities are going through .gov adrresses. Regarding Microsoft, I suggest watching Barnacules's recent video on how to stop Windows 10 from spying on you.

thanks for that. i didnt think they are going through .gov addresses but it was more of an example. i might have to intentionaly get a system infected and hook it up to a pfsence machine and see what adresses it sends data to. maybe i can use something like a filter on my router to whitelist addresses instead of black list. 

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Posted

statistics have shown that armed american forces and their bombs like to show up in deserts too, might want to rethink that

Right then, off to the moon in that case.

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...why are you still reading this?

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Posted

Snowden can go rot to hell.

he hasn't done much wrong. He fits under "ethical hacker" to me, and I support ethical hackers A LOT.

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+1 paranoia. True or not, I'm still a little shaken.

Right, I'm packing up and moving to the middle of the desert with no technology or communication devices. Anyone wanna tag along?

Sure... Do you have a lot of water at disposal?
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