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Thunderspy Is A New Vulnerability Affecting Thunderbolt Security

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  • #11
    Originally posted by skeevy420 View Post
    And yet another thing to add to the list of reasons of why I'm building an AMD 3300X based system.
    It doesn't matter if you use Intel or AMD, it affects ThunderBolt chipsets doesn't it?

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    • #12
      Originally posted by andyprough View Post
      Their website is a little weird. On the one hand, they want us all to download their random python script and give it root privileges to check and see if our machines are vulnerable. On the other hand, they "strongly recommend" that we turn off the thunderbolt ports in bios/uefi, as if there's a spy around every corner with a malicious device they are going to try to plug in the moment we turn our backs.
      python scripts are text files and can be easily inspected and verified to not contain malware

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      • #13
        Originally posted by skeevy420 View Post
        And yet another thing to add to the list of reasons of why I'm building an AMD 3300X based system.
        Thunderbolt is provided by a dedicated chipset, I'm going to assume you won't buy an AMD board with Thunderbolt support for a 3300X, although they exist.
        Torture is bs, it works reliably only in movies.

        Way too many people respond to stress in ways that aren't useful to get any info from them, especially if they believe you will kill them anyway (which torture strongly hints at).

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        • #14

          More info: THUNDERSPY

          Interesting quote:
          In our first email we asked Intel to promptly notify affected parties, in coordination with us. However, Intel did not take any action and finally, after several email exchanges, listed only 5 parties whom they would inform. We then sent them a list of other parties we had identified as affected, including 11 OEMs/ODMs and the Linux kernel security team. Eventually they notified us that they informed some parties on 25 March about the vulnerabilities and upcoming disclosure, without giving us details of what this information consisted of and whom exactly they contacted. We reached out to several more parties after realizing that they had been skipped by Intel.

          IOW, it seems it was meant as a "feature" and not a bug, that's why they were dragging their feet so long.
          BTW: Thunderbolt protocol specs are closed - they are known only to narrow circle of members. All which have primary interest in implementation, not searching for vulnerabilites ( it runs rather counter their interests).

          BTW: This means that they had you pay premium for HW with Thunderbolt in order for give anyone open doors to your stuff.

          Ferengi rule: Make customer must pay for his poison.

          And the kicker is - everyone MUST UPGRADE TO NEW HARDWARE ( not just chip, for laptops that means whole laptop), just to get their backdoor moved somewhere else.
          God knows how many such "bugs" are sprinkled everywhere...


          Last edited by Brane215; 12 May 2020, 01:16 AM.

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          • #15
            So Intel supressing thunderbolt Support on AMD Laptops can bee seen as a generous act of protecting the competitor.....I m already fearing Intels Marketing bs
            Last edited by CochainComplex; 12 May 2020, 01:36 AM.

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            • #16
              Originally posted by kcrudup View Post
              If they're in my device's guts, there's a lot worse things they could do than this, probably with more effect.
              Well, they don't have to be in the device's guts. It could be that, at least for some of the vulnerabilities, one is able to hack an already connected device and perform an attack from there. Certainly, most TB devices will never see a firmware update.

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              • #17
                This is what I fear when Thunderbolt 4 is included in USB4, that we can not longer disable the physical thunderbolt ports in our laptops, as they are just security hazards.

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                • #18
                  Originally posted by skeevy420 View Post
                  And yet another thing to add to the list of reasons of why I'm building an AMD 3300X based system.

                  Veto So we're changing from a wrench to a screwdriver?


                  Yeah, I was thinking of upgrading to a i7-7700K which is the fastest thing my motherboard supports, but it's tough to find at reasonable prices, and even the 3300X seems on par or slightly faster.

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                  • #19
                    Originally posted by kcrudup View Post
                    If they're in my device's guts, there's a lot worse things they could do than this, probably with more effect.
                    Yeah, like freeze your RAM and extract encryption keys with it. Very real threat scenario that everyone of us should be afraid of.

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                    • #20
                      I am using a Thunderbolt 3 dock at work, what is pretty comfortable. Sadly the work laptop is windows 10, cause my employer wants it so (yes I know,I should switch the emloyer ). This vulnerability got me thinking, if you could rig the dock and then gain easy access to the laptop. But as others said, I think there are a lot more and easier ways to do so, if you wanted to.

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