Your CPU May Be Next Rootkit Hiding Place

[Osiris]

Security researchers have created a rootkit that can bury itself in an obscure part of the CPU, hiding it from current antivirus products. It will be demonstrated publicly at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas this summer.

Called a System Management Mode (SMM) rootkit, the software runs in a protected part of a computer's memory that can be locked and rendered invisible to the operating system, but which can give attackers a picture of what's happening in a computer's memory.

[H]ard|OCP - www.hardocp.com

[vernong1992]

Wow thats new one

now thats a problem that reinstalling Windows can't help

[macdawg]

extremely bizarre, probably have to flash bios to clean it I suppose.

[Formerly the latter]

BIOS is stored on a separate chip from the CPU so I doubt that would have much effect on it

That infection is integrated into the code of the CPU. I would only think a replacement CPU, or a special cleaning tool could fix that type of infection? I hope nothing like that goes global or the analysts job will accelerate to something much more than just log analyzing.

[aeroplane22]

I hope not. If I ever lost a multi-thousand dollar system to a virus like that, I would go at great lengths to track the source. Activities at the source would be violent.

[zedman3d]

Originally Posted by aeroplane22

I hope not. If I ever lost a multi-thousand dollar system to a virus like that, I would go at great lengths to track the source. Activities at the source would be violent.

I concur. I would dedicate my life to tracking the ******* that did it to me.

[kotto]

I think I have got good news: Intel is working on a technology that will be able to reveal rootkits immediately after they penetrate a PC. It will be able to stop any rootkit similar to XCP (Extended Copy Protection)used in some Sony Music/BMG CDs. I suppose Intel will easily find a solution to block any other types of rootkits and prevent malware from damaging our machines.