#IMAC EFI FIRMWARE UPDATE INSTALL#
#IMAC EFI FIRMWARE UPDATE UPDATE#
#IMAC EFI FIRMWARE UPDATE SOFTWARE#

That may be in part due to the hardware restrictions of that Thunderstrike attack, the researchers concede, given that it requires a hacker to have physical access to the target computer's Thunderbolt port, a component many older Macs lack.

#IMAC EFI FIRMWARE UPDATE UPDATE#

But the researchers did look at how Apple patched four different EFI hacking methods presented in prior security research, and found that the company simply didn't push out firmware patches against those attacks at all for dozens of older models of Macs, even as they did update those PCs' operating systems.ДЇor one attack known as Thunderstrike, likely used at times by the CIA to plant spyware deep inside victim computers according to recent releases from WikiLeaks, the researchers say 47 models of PC didn't receive firmware patches to prevent the attack. Just how often those failed firmware updates would leave Macs open to actual known EFI hacking techniques isn't exactly clear-the researchers's analysis of the failed updates didn't go so far as to quantify how many of those glitches left computers vulnerable to specific attacks.

And for many models, Apple hasn't released new firmware updates at all, leaving a subset of Apple machines vulnerable to known years-old EFI attacks that could gain deep and persistent control of a victim's machine. Duo found that even Macs with perfectly updated operating systems often have much older EFI code, due to either Apple's neglecting to push out EFI updates to those machines or failing to warn users when their firmware update hits a technical glitch and silently fails.ДЇor certain models of Apple laptops and desktop computers, close to a third or half of machines have EFI versions that haven't kept pace with their operating system updates. This is the firmware that runs before your PC's operating system boots and has the potential to corrupt practically everything else that happens on your machine.

#IMAC EFI FIRMWARE UPDATE INSTALL#

And that's not because lazy users have neglected to install them, but because Apple's firmware updates frequently fail without any notice to the user, or simply because Apple silently stopped offering those computers firmware updates-in some cases even against known hacking techniques.ДЄt today's Ekoparty security conference, security firm Duo plans to present research on how it delved into the guts of tens of thousands of computers to measure the real-world state of Apple's so-called extensible firmware interface, or EFI. Now one new study has found that the most critical elements of millions of Macs' firmware aren't getting updates.

#IMAC EFI FIRMWARE UPDATE SOFTWARE#

That obscure, reptile-brain code controls everything from a PC's webcam to its trackpad to how it finds the rest of its software as it boots up. But even the most meticulous practitioners of digital hygiene generally focus on maintaining the updates of their computer's operating system and applications, not its firmware. As any nagging cybersecurity expert will tell you, keeping your software up-to-date is the brushing and flossing of digital security.

Imac efi firmware update