4 ms·

The Thunderstrike exploit for EFI required knowledge of the option ROM, which is a little bit of legacy tech left over from the original IBM PCs. Check out this

The Thunderstrike exploit for EFI required knowledge of the option ROM, which is a little bit of legacy tech left over from the original IBM PCs. Check out this[0] overview. Hacking a modern machine using, in part, information taken from the Intel 8088 architecture reference manual! Also, my EE studies largely skipped over the analog world entirely. There were two courses on linear circuits, but they talked very little about analog (not a single mention of a vacuum tube to be found). Your assumption that a second year EE student could explain this to you is no longer correct in 2015 as most programs are similar to what I went through. [0]: https://trmm.net/Thunderstrike_31c3 https://trmm.net/Thunderstrike_31c3

rasz_pl 11y ago
Apples and monkeys. Option rom is extensively documented and part of every bios hacking writepu. Example: https://books.google.pl/books/about/BIOS_Disassembly_Ninjutsu_Uncovered.html?id=2N40AAAACAAJ https://books.google.pl/books/about/BIOS_Disassembly_Ninjuts... authors blog http://bioshacking.blogspot.com/ http://bioshacking.blogspot.com/ free book download: http://www.lejabeach.com/sisubb/BIOS_Disassembly_Ninjutsu_Uncovered.pdf http://www.lejabeach.com/sisubb/BIOS_Disassembly_Ninjutsu_Un... It isnt some arcane knowledge only dying out grey beards would know about.
- engi_nerd 11y ago
  No, it isn't arcane -- in part because those old manuals are around.
  - rasz_pl 11y ago
    :/ its like saying we know how to program in x86 assembly only because of some 34 year old books.
    - engi_nerd 11y ago
      That wasn't what I meant at all in my original post, and apologies for not expressing myself clearly. But it's good that those manuals are preserved, as they capture the original context of the system's use. I have another post on this thread where I talk about some uses I've had for old manuals. That's the sort of thing I'm getting at. The GE engine manuals, for instance, aren't arcane in the context of CH-46 maintenance, but in the broader context of printed material they are extremely arcane.

rasz_pl 11y ago

Apples and monkeys. Option rom is extensively documented and part of every bios hacking writepu. Example: https://books.google.pl/books/about/BIOS_Disassembly_Ninjutsu_Uncovered.html?id=2N40AAAACAAJ https://books.google.pl/books/about/BIOS_Disassembly_Ninjuts... authors blog http://bioshacking.blogspot.com/ http://bioshacking.blogspot.com/ free book download: http://www.lejabeach.com/sisubb/BIOS_Disassembly_Ninjutsu_Uncovered.pdf http://www.lejabeach.com/sisubb/BIOS_Disassembly_Ninjutsu_Un... It isnt some arcane knowledge only dying out grey beards would know about.

engi_nerd 11y ago
No, it isn't arcane -- in part because those old manuals are around.
- rasz_pl 11y ago
  :/ its like saying we know how to program in x86 assembly only because of some 34 year old books.
  - engi_nerd 11y ago
    That wasn't what I meant at all in my original post, and apologies for not expressing myself clearly. But it's good that those manuals are preserved, as they capture the original context of the system's use. I have another post on this thread where I talk about some uses I've had for old manuals. That's the sort of thing I'm getting at. The GE engine manuals, for instance, aren't arcane in the context of CH-46 maintenance, but in the broader context of printed material they are extremely arcane.