3 ms·
Doesn't get you much, unless the vulnerability requires a writable filesystem in order to be exploited or you really really really want to persist across reboot
by metroholografix 6y ago
Doesn't get you much, unless the vulnerability requires a writable filesystem in order to be exploited or you really really really want to persist across reboots (not hard but not usually needed) or firmware updates (much harder to do robustly, expertise required).
Malware can operate entirely in memory, not touching disk. If access is lost, reinfection can take place (has been used by nation state actors). Even the Mirai botnet which was done by amateurs didn't persist and simply reinfected. So it comes down to your potential adversaries. Actors deploying wide, non-targeted attacks Mirai-style get little value from persistence. It's simply an extra layer of unneeded complexity.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- PhantomGremlin 6y agoDoesn't get you much It can do a lot in the right circumstances. E.g. if a USB thumb drive had a physical write-protect, it could be plugged into a potentially hostile computer without concern about losing the data on the drive. Years ago I saw a few USB thumb drives with that feature. But I don't know if they're out there any more. They're almost as scarce as hens' teeth.
- Multicomp 6y agoIirc the kanguru series of USB flash drives make bank now that they are one of the few remaining manufacturers of flash drives that have hardware write protect switches.