Untrustworthy firmware


Alas, we can't blindly trust firmware anymore. What once used to be the occasional corruption or faulty hardware, now is the realm of malicious activities. See the following articles for more details.

The Ars Technica article "Researcher skepticism grows over badBIOS malware claims" talks about symptoms a researcher was seeing in his lab in the recent months.

badBIOS

If you don't believe that computers can communicate via sound using the built in speaker(s) and microphone, take a look at the ExtremeTech article "New type of audio malware transmits through speakers and microphones" for more than a proof of concept demonstration.

ExtremeTech: New type of audio malware transmits through speakers and microphones

Bruce Schneier's article "FEEDTROUGH: NSA Exploit of the Day" talks about how the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group has weaponized firmware.

When you are ready to be sick to your stomach, go take a look at Leaksource's "NSA’s ANT Division Catalog of Exploits for Nearly Every Major Software/Hardware/Firmware" article and see for your self just how weaponized things really are.

NSA’s ANT Division Catalog of Exploits for Nearly Every Major Software/Hardware/Firmware