The United States\u2019 National Security Agency (NSA) is being blamed for hiding spying software in the firmware of hard drives from\u00a0more than a dozen HDD manufacturers.<\/p>\n
This includes hard drives from\u00a0Western Digital, Seagate, and Toshiba.<\/p>\n
According to Reuters<\/strong><\/a> this spyware provides the NSA with the ability to eavesdrop on the majority of the world’s computers.<\/p>\n Kaspersky Lab said that<\/strong><\/a> its Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) has recovered two modules which allow reprogramming of the hard drive firmware.<\/p>\n Kaspersky Lab said this is the first known malware capable of infecting the hard drives.<\/p>\n By reprogramming the hard drive firmware (rewriting the hard drive\u2019s operating system), two goals\u00a0are achieved:<\/p>\n Costin Raiu, director of GReAT\u00a0at Kaspersky Lab, warned that once the hard drive gets infected with this malicious payload it is impossible to scan its firmware.<\/p>\n \u201cTo put it simply: for most hard drives there are functions to write into the hardware firmware area, but there are no functions to read it back. It means that we are practically blind, and cannot detect hard drives that have been infected by this malware,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, in some cases it may help the group to crack the encryption. Taking into account the fact that their GrayFish implant is active from the very boot of the system, they have the ability to capture the encryption password and save it into this hidden area,\u201d said Raiu.<\/p>\n US launches new cyber security agency<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t talk in front of your smart TV \u2013 it may be listening<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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