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'''Thunderspy''' is a type of [[Vulnerability (computing)|security vulnerability]], based on the [[Thunderbolt (interface)|Intel Thunderbolt port]], first reported publicly on 10 May 2020, that can result in an [[Evil maid attack|evil maid]] (ie, attacker of an unattended device) attack gaining full access to a computer's information in about five minutes, and may affect millions of [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Linux]] and [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] computers, as well as any computers manufactured before 2019, and some after that.<ref name="WRD-20200510">{{cite news |last=Greenberg |first=Andy |title=Thunderbolt Flaws Expose Millions of PCs to Hands-On Hacking - The so-called Thunderspy attack takes less than five minutes to pull off with physical access to a device, and it affects any PC manufactured before 2019. |url=https://www.wired.com/story/thunderspy-thunderbolt-evil-maid-hacking/ |date=10 May 2020 |work=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |accessdate=11 May 2020 }}</ref><ref name="VRG-20200511">{{cite news |last=Porter |first=Jon |title=Thunderbolt flaw allows access to a
== History ==
The Thunderspy security vulnerabilities were first publicly reported by Björn Ruytenberg of [[Eindhoven University of Technology]] in the [[Netherlands]] on 10 May 2020.<ref name="TSY-20200417">{{cite news |last=Ruytenberg |first=Björn |title=Breaking Thunderbolt Protocol Security: Vulnerability Report. 2020. |url=https://thunderspy.io/assets/reports/breaking-thunderbolt-security-bjorn-ruytenberg-20200417.pdf |date=17 April 2020 |work=Thunderspy.io |accessdate=11 May 2020 }}</ref> Thunderspy is similar to [[Thunderclap (security vulnerability)|Thunderclap]],<ref name="TC-20190226">{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Thunderclap: Modern computers are vulnerable to malicious peripheral devices |url=http://thunderclap.io/ |date=26 February 2019 |accessdate=12 May 2020 }}</ref><ref name="VRG-20190227">{{cite news |last=Gartenberg |first=Chaim |title=
== Impact ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2020}}
The security vulnerability affects millions of Apple, Linux and Windows computers, as well as all computers manufactured before 2019, and some after that.<ref name="WRD-20200510" /><ref name="FRBS-20200511" /><ref name="TSY-2020" /> However, this impact is restricted mainly to how precise a bad actor would have to be to execute the attack. Physical access to a machine with a vulnerable Thunderbolt controller is necessary, as well as a writable ROM chip for the Thunderbolt controller's firmware.<ref name="TSY-2020" /> Since ROM chips can come in a BGA format, this isn't always possible.{{cn|date=May 2020}} Additionally, part of Thunderspy, specifically the portion involving re-writing the firmware of the controller, requires the device to be in sleep,<ref name="TSY-2020" /> or at least in some sort of powered-on state, to be effective.<ref name="HR-20200513">{{Cite web |last=Grey |first=Mishka |title=7 Thunderbolt Vulnerabilities Affect Millions of Devices: 'Thunderspy' Allows Physical Hacking in 5 Minutes - Do you own a Thunderbolt equipped laptop, and have bought it after 2011? Well,
Due to the nature of attacks that require extended physical access to hardware, it's unlikely the attack will affect users outside of a business or government environment.<ref name="HR-20200513" /><ref name="YT-20200511">{{cite news |author=codeHusky |title=Video (11:01) - Thunderspy is nothing to worry about - Here's why |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Z3hQh0NxY |date=11 May 2020 |work=[[YouTube]] |accessdate=12 May 2020 }}</ref>
== Mitigation ==
The researchers claim there is no easy software solution, and may only be mitigated by disabling the Thunderbolt port altogether.<ref name="WRD-20200510" /> However, the impacts of this attack (reading kernel level memory without the machine needing to be powered off) are largely mitigated by anti-intrusion features provided by many business machines.<ref name="msdoc-kdma-protecton-for-thunderbolt">{{cite web |author=Staff |title=Kernel DMA Protection for Thunderbolt™ 3 (Windows 10) - Microsoft 365 Security |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/information-protection/kernel-dma-protection-for-thunderbolt |date=26 March 2019 |work=Microsoft Docs |accessdate=17 May 2020 }}</ref> Intel claims enabling such features would substantially restrict the effectiveness of the attack.<ref name="intel-20200510">{{cite news |last=Jerry |first=Bryant |title=More Information on Thunderbolt(TM) Security - Technology@Intel |url=https://blogs.intel.com/technology/2020/05/more-information-on-thunderspy/ |date=10 May 2020 |accessdate=17 May 2020 }}</ref> Microsoft's official security recommendations recommend disabling sleep mode while using BitLocker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/information-protection/bitlocker/bitlocker-security-faq#what-are-the-implications-of-using-the-sleep-or-hibernate-power-management-options|title = BitLocker Security FAQ (Windows 10) - Windows security}}</ref> Using hibernation in place of sleep mode turns the device off, mitigating potential risks of attack on encrypted data.
== References ==
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