Meet "badBIOS"

[JockThatCamel]

New virus? Really interesting read. Saw this on OCN, thought it should be here as well.

 

 

Three years ago, security consultant Dragos Ruiu was in his lab when he noticed something highly unusual: his MacBook Air, on which he had just installed a fresh copy of OS X, spontaneously updated the firmware that helps it boot. Stranger still, when Ruiu then tried to boot the machine off a CD ROM, it refused. He also found that the machine could delete data and undo configuration changes with no prompting. He didn't know it then, but that odd firmware update would become a high-stakes malware mystery that would consume most of his waking hours.

 

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/10/meet-badbios-the-mysterious-mac-and-pc-malware-that-jumps-airgaps/

[Jeroen1322]

Yeah no viruses on a Mac... 

[kuddlesworth9419]

Yeah no viruses on a Mac... snowleopardvirus.jpg

Linux doesn't get many viruses either. Plus Linux is better than OSX. The only reason why Linux isn't the most commonly used is because it doesn't run games natively. As soon as it does all the PC gamers will go to Linux and Windows will die out. Less and less support for Windows until eventually consumers will then go to Linux eventually. This will all happen in the next 10 years.

[Jeroen1322]

Linux doesn't get many viruses either. Plus Linux is better than OSX. The only reason why Linux isn't the most commonly used is because it doesn't run games natively. As soon as it does all the PC gamers will go to Linux and Windows will die out. Less and less support for Windows until eventually consumers will then go to Linux eventually. This will all happen in the next 10 years.

I can't wait till it is the default OS!  

[Oisin Maguire]

I can't wait till it is the default OS!

That will never happen as Linux is a kernel not an os, but you also have another problem of which Linux based distro would become "default" Ubuntu perhaps maybe Mint, as there what I consider to be the most newb sensitive versions currently

[rentaspoon]

Linux doesn't get many viruses either. Plus Linux is better than OSX. The only reason why Linux isn't the most commonly used is because it doesn't run games natively. As soon as it does all the PC gamers will go to Linux and Windows will die out. Less and less support for Windows until eventually consumers will then go to Linux eventually. This will all happen in the next 10 years.

No its because its UI is completely different and not user friendly.

Its taken me 2 years but I have almost all my windows games running smoother on it.

[ionbasa]

That is why everyone should be using secureboot. Or at least vendors should sign the bios images with a key (HP and Dell does this).

[Scheer]

Linux doesn't get many viruses either. Plus Linux is better than OSX. The only reason why Linux isn't the most commonly used is because it doesn't run games natively. As soon as it does all the PC gamers will go to Linux and Windows will die out. Less and less support for Windows until eventually consumers will then go to Linux eventually. This will all happen in the next 10 years.

 

And then everyone will focus on making virus to infect Linux devices as it is the most popular OS.

[kuddlesworth9419]

And then everyone will focus on making virus to infect Linux devices as it is the most popular OS.

C0rrect.

[Scia]

No its because its UI is completely different and not user friendly.

Its taken me 2 years but I have almost all my windows games running smoother on it.

 

Which UI? Unity? Gnome? KDE? Mate? Cinnamon? ... and so on =P [Gnome FTW:D]

[GoodBytes]

Just enable secure boot, and call it a day.

[martinrox1568]

Linux doesn't get many viruses either. Plus Linux is better than OSX. The only reason why Linux isn't the most commonly used is because it doesn't run games natively. As soon as it does all the PC gamers will go to Linux and Windows will die out. Less and less support for Windows until eventually consumers will then go to Linux eventually. This will all happen in the next 10 years.

The day Linux becomes popular is the day Linux gets viruses

[Abhinav]

Just enable secure boot, and call it a day.

The article states this as it's first sentence:

Three years ago, security consultant Dragos Ruiu was in his lab when he noticed something highly unusual: his MacBook Air, on which he had just installed a fresh copy of OS X, spontaneously updated the firmware that helps it boot.

Secure boot was implemented long time back on macs. So this virus/malware/rootkit works even if secure boot is still enabled.

[1823alex]

Just when you think there aren't anymore virus' in the world, theres another it's actually not super new, the BIOS virus. So I found this article and apparently one of the symptoms is that your disc drive will stop working, the part that really freaks me out it can survive a FULL system wipe, this virus currently exists on Linus, OS X, and Windows. This virus basically seems to have the equvelent of super user on android or linux, meaning it can delete files and roll things back without your permission, or even telling you, you'll just find your new precious word document has gone missing. As of now it seems that the only way to stop it is to prevent the BIOS from flashing itself. The only way to remove the virus seems to me from what I understand is get a new BIOS chip, wipe your drive of the file that gave you the virus, or just wipe your drive, and then get a new motherboard. These computers that are 'Infected' (It's a laptop so it ran on battery) without a power cord, bluetooth, ethernet cables, or even wireless, IPV6 was also disabled, they can only communicate small amounts of data, but it's quite creepy your computer can communicate while powered off and do things with out your knowing or confirmation. It seems these computers communicate via there microphones, and speakers using high frequencys.

 

Source(s)

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/bios-virus-rootkit-security-backdoor,7400.html

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/10/meet-badbios-the-mysterious-mac-and-pc-malware-that-jumps-airgaps/

[whatthe_fuzz]

Well f***

[xToFxREAPER]

Thats rather disturbing.. good thing i rarely if ever download things..

[Wferr]

We are screwed.

[Anult]

Should have called the virus CIH 2.

[Ethnod]

This was covered by the Tek, however there is no real evidence that it exists yet tbh.

[1823alex]

This was covered by the Tek, however there is no real evidence that it exists yet tbh.

I'm pretty sure it's real as it has happen to someone three years ago, It's defineately interesting though, can't imagine if someone put this virus in some dumb thing like 'GTA V PC!'

[helping]

I'm pretty sure it's real as it has happen to someone three years ago, It's defineately interesting though, can't imagine if someone put this virus in some dumb thing like 'GTA V PC!'

That sounds like a really stupid application for such a heinous and annoying piece of devil-craft that you described.

 

if you really wanted to screw with some people, you'd package it and rename it as "al qaeda bombing plan instructions" and email it to yourself. 

[1823alex]

That sounds like a really stupid application for such a heinous and annoying piece of devil-craft that you described.  

I was making that example because GTA V isn't on PC, and all those people tried getting it but got a virus which I believe Linus mentioned in the last wan show. It was an example.

[hiyayhi]

Just be careful with what you download, Don't be stupid with things. but TBH I don't think that the people in this forum are the people likely to be the customer of such malware.

[ANUPLUCIFERGAMER]

this is bad  

[dyent10]

the virus would have to be big enough to store bios information of a lot of motherboards spanning over a period of time. unless it can effectively analyze the motherboard and download a bios for it without the user noticing, then its gonna be huge.