Do you remember Thunderbolt? That security flaw detected a while ago that put users’ security through the ports of their computers in check? Well, you should know that he is back now. A report published by the Eindhoven University of Technology has just revealed that the Thunderbolt security system, present through the connection ports of Intel peripherals and equipment, could be the perfect gateway to attacks by millions and millions of computers around the world.
Research by researcher Björn Ruytenberg reveals that if a computer hacker gains access to a computer for as little as five minutes, he or she may be perfectly able to grab the login data and fully access the data. personal and information contained in the user’s equipment.
But who can be affected by this problem and in what way? Thunderbolt ports are in many Windows, Linux and macOS computers, which indicates that the affected ones can be many. According to this researcher, Rutenberg, all the equipment developed and manufactured between 2011 and 2020 would be affected by this problem. The worst of all? That there is no software update that can solve the incident. Hence, the only possible solution is to redesign the silicon system of computers.
Luckily, no hacker – as good as it is – can remotely access our computer to take advantage of this failure. In any case, it would be necessary for the offender to be physically present, which complicates – and greatly – the possibility that our teams will be attacked.
HOW CAN I KNOW IF MY COMPUTER IS AFFECTED?
The truth is that, although you know that you are affected by this common problem, you will not be able to do too much to solve it. Still, it doesn’t hurt to check it out. How? Well, we will tell you.
Those responsible for the research project led by Ruytenberg have created an open-source software called Thunderspy. It is a totally secure tool, with which you can check if, indeed, your computer is a candidate for a hack. It is compatible with Windows and Linux, so if this is your case, you can follow these instructions:
1. First, go to the Thunderspy page. It is a safe place, so calm. You have to click on the option “Spycheck for Windows” to download the tool created by this research team to your computer.
2. Then unzip the downloaded file so that you can access the installation files. Open Thunderspy and select your language. You can only choose between Dutch and English. Accept the terms of use.
3. Now the system will ask you to identify the ports you have on your computer. Choose the correct option, checking if the ports have the lightning icon or not (as you can see in the image). Next, the program will tell you whether or not your computer is vulnerable to this problem. Users who have a vulnerable computer have the option to disable Thunderbolt in the BIOS / UEFI so that the ports function only as USB.
Be that as it may, and taking into account that in order to carry out an attack it is necessary for the attacker to have physical access to the machine, the most prudent thing is to keep the equipment always under surveillance and try not to leave it unattended, whether we work with it in a space public as shared.