Rahul SomvanshiIn March, a security breach allowed the leak of up to 1.5TB of MSI’s sensitive data, impacting other companies as well. Intel is now actively investigating a major data loss of Intel Boot Guard keys as a result of the breach. The extent of the damage is still unclear as investigations are underway.
In the worst-case scenario, the security feature would end up useless on compromised devices and stands as a critical concern. Reportedly, the Money Message extortion gang targeted MSI and demanded a $4 million ransom, but the company refused to pay.
The hacker clique began leaking the firmware source code of MSI’s motherboards as a result. The source code may contain sensitive information, such as Intel Boot Guard private keys for 116 MSI products.
Intel Boot Guard prevents the loading of malicious firmware on Intel hardware, and its compromise is a significant concern for both Intel and MSI. Threat actors who gain access to these keys could create powerful malware capable of bypassing Intel’s security measures.
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The compromised Intel Boot Guard may now be ineffective on some of Intel’s best processors running on MSI-based devices. The leak may have opened the door to the creation of malware that can skip past Intel Boot Guard, posing a danger to affected devices.
Users of MSI motherboards and Intel chips should take necessary security measures to stay safe, such as avoiding downloading files from untrusted sources and regularly scanning their computers with antivirus software. More information from Intel and MSI is needed to determine what happens next in the aftermath of the breach.
Alex Matrosov, CEO of the security platform Binarly, shared on Twitter about the breach, which led to the leak of Intel Boot Guard keys for 166 different products as well as FW image signing keys for 57 MSI products. The compromise of Intel Boot Guard is a significant concern for the cybersecurity industry, as it’s an essential security feature in Intel hardware. The breach raised issues around security and highlights the importance of implementing robust security practices to protect sensitive data and prevent cyberattacks.
