Microsoft’s report of a a rise in firmware attacks partly reflects the rise of embedded systems and the Internet of Things (IoT), according to Richard Gall, blogging for cybersecurity vendor Macrium.
Gall said that Microsoft found that around eight in ten enterprises have suffered at least one firmware attack over the past two years. Firmware contains sensitive core information, such as encryption, that can make it a valuable target.
“[But] one trend not mentioned in [Microsoft’s] blog post is the growth of embedded systems and IoT. We can see this in the rise of a certain type of consumer product (think FitBits and Apple Watches) but the real boom is happening in industrial settings.
“As machinery becomes increasingly more connected and network enabled, accessing firmware could grow even further in value, as it could potentially give cybercriminals or cyberterrorists access to vital infrastructure.”
Microsoft said that businesses aren’t paying enough attention to firmware threats, with only 29% of security budgets allocated to defending firmware.
Gall agreed the industry could focus more on firmware issues, which can often be overlooked. Hopefully, this could encourage vendors to work out how to deliver “more sustained” defences.
“It’s nevertheless important to recognise we’re living in a world where the challenges are so complex and global that they will need to be driven by organisations like Microsoft working with hardware manufacturers,” Gall said.
Firmware programs sit between the operating system and the hardware, bridging those two critical building blocks of IT.
“In very simple devices, the firmware actually is the operating system. If all that a user needs is a way to interact with the specifics of the hardware, then firmware is sufficient,” said Gall.
Part of what’s needed is visibility into the firmware layer to ensure devices haven’t been compromised before boot-up or at runtime below the operating-system kernel. Most firmware attacks target the kernel or the physical hardware.
“The fact that so many cybersecurity teams are doing things manually that could be automated (82%) does require serious thinking,” said Gall.
( Photo by Andres Urena on Unsplash )
