RSA security attack demo deep-fries Apple Mac components
The cyberattack demonstration “frying the machine” was done by targeting the machine’s APC embedded controller through a fake firmware update devised by CrowdStrike that spiked the CPU and turned off the fans.
The point, said Alperovitch, is this is a type of cyberattack that enterprises really can expect to see happen in the future, an attack that is not recoverable in terms of data or the machine itself.
“This is the next-generation permanent destruction,” warns Kurtz. It involves attacking hardware itself — and far more than just a Mac OS X can be manipulated this way — and this is “what we believe will happen in the real world.” In contrast, most other types of cyber-attack currently can be regarded as “recoverable” in the sense that even though damage is done, there is usually a way to restore systems or retrieve data.
But now, “we are entering a new age of targeted destruction attacks,” Kurtz concluded.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2014/022614-rsa-apple-attack-279212.html
