Quoted in Softpedia.com: NSA: Foreign Country Developed BIOS Malware Designed to Destroy Computers

http://news.softpedia.com/news/NSA-Says-Foreign-Country-Developed-BIOS-Malware-Capable-of-Destroying-Computers-409446.shtml

However, the story seems to be a bit exaggerated. Taking control of computers might be a plausible goal, but destroying them seems a bit farfetched. Avira Security Expert and Product Manager Sorin Mustaca agrees.

“Regarding the so-called ‘BIOS Plot,’ I think it is just a smart tactic to direct the attention from the real problem. I don’t think that China or anyone else on this planet would damage the economy of the USA for the simple reason that they would ultimately do a damage to themselves (and their country/employer),” the expert has told Softpedia.

“We have seen what happened in 2009 when the Bank crisis went on in the USA. The entire planet was affected and this was a financial crisis and not a doomsday for computers,” he noted.

Mustaca highlights that there is a big difference between a bot (a remotely infected computer) and a “brick” (to make a computer unusable). It appears that not everyone knows the difference.

“I would fully understand if a government would try to control the computers in the US (especially those that are critical), but I don’t understand why would anyone would want to destroy them.”

Mustaca also points to another interesting part of the interview in which the NSA officials claim that their analysts work on highly complex systems, and when mistakes are made, they’re “human errors, not intentional abuse.”

“I think that NSA is facing a unprecedented PR crisis. Actually the Public Relations is exactly what NSA doesn’t want to have. It is the first time when I hear that the spying might have been done ‘by human errors and not willingly’,” Mustaca said.


© Copyright 2013 Sorin Mustaca, All rights Reserved. Written For: Sorin Mustaca on Cybersecurity


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