New 'Phlashing' Attack Sabotages Hardware 242
yahoi writes "A new type of denial-of-service attack, called permanent denial-of-service (PDOS), damages a system so badly that it requires replacement or reinstallation of hardware. A researcher has discovered how to abuse firmware update mechanisms with what he calls 'phlashing' — a type of remote PDOS attack."
Re:I had no clue people still upgraded firmwares. (Score:3, Informative)
In Italy (Score:2, Informative)
Nothing to see, move on folks. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I had no clue people still upgraded firmwares. (Score:2, Informative)
And, thanks to new exploits like this, firmware upgrades may be necessary to block exploits from sabotaging your network equipment, simply maliciously (bricking) or for profit (undetectable redirects to phishing sites, attaching your affiliate ID to all ads, catching any SSN/Credit Card Number/Login going through even if it is not a phishing site.
Re:I used to work with a Sys Admin like that (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Read-only switch (Score:4, Informative)
Hardly a new phenomenon (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Pharphetched naming (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.physics.uwo.ca/~harwood/humor13.txt [physics.uwo.ca]
Re:Pharphetched naming (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Sometimes I wonder... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I had no clue people still upgraded firmwares. (Score:3, Informative)
iPhone
PS3
360
Wii
PSP
Re:I used to work with a Sys Admin like that (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Bricking (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Surely this isn't that much of a problem (Score:3, Informative)
To me this looks like talking up a non existent problem - but I'm open to persuasion otherwise.
If the trojan carried the payload onboard, sure, the target audience would be small. However, if the trojan read the PC info, and the downloaded bad firmwares from an external site or database of them, and then bricked your broadband device, your router, your dvd drives, your soundcard, your video card, your raid array, then your MB, we could say you got phukked.
Re:Hardware Virus (Score:2, Informative)
Hard drives have a "rest" mode for when shutting down (as to not cause damage when shipping/etc.) if it was not powered on or in use, which caused the read/write drive heads to be placed down on the drive platters when it stopped spinning. There was a virus that would speed up the disk, then throw it into rest mode immediately, and you guessed it, tear right into the hard disk with a loud noise and literally bricking that hard drive.
Then there was another good one that I heard that involved the monitor blowing up. Although this supposedly happened on the very old computer monitors (so it's fixed on today's monitors) and it involved changing frequencies, if I recall correctly (I believe from like 60hz to 75hz), but don't directly quote me on that.
For some reason, I feel these type of stories are the most interesting and can teach you a good deal about hardware. So as a request, anyone with these stories please post them here
Re:Everything should have a factory reset switch (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Bricking & replacement parts (Score:4, Informative)
Truly spoken by someone who hasn't tried to buy a programmed flash part for a made in China board. Hint, the replacement board can be purchased but the replacement chip containing IP firmware is a little harder to obtain. Custom parts on the board (flash memory) are not imported in a programmed state. If you can extract the image from the executable without the aid of the boot loader, many of these blank chips and flash upgrade don't come with any way to install the initial code to load the initial firmware.
A new blank BIOS chip doesn't contain enough firmware to boot a floppy, USB memory stick, or CD ROM to flash the BIOS. You need a BIOS image and device programmer. Since neither is supplied and both are needed, your chances of obtaining a BIOS image and installing the firmware are slim to none.
A Blank clock flash memory chip from Mouser does not make a bricked board bootable enough to flash the new BIOS firmware.
If you want to try it, Pick up a blank unit here; Good luck
http://www.epn-online.com/page/new56862/mouser-stocks-silicon-laboratories-c8051f9xx-line-of-mcus.html [epn-online.com]