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Vulnerability Management, Endpoint/Device Security

Learning About Firmware Security – Xeno Kovah – PSW #811

Firmware security is a deeply technical topic that's hard to get started in. In this episode of Below the Surface, Xeno will discuss some past work in firmware security, and how he has organized resources such as a low level timeline (with over 300 talks), and free MOOC classes, to help teach people about firmware security.

Segment Resources: https://ost2.fyi https://darkmentor.com/timeline.html

This segment is sponsored by Eclypsium. Visit https://securityweekly.com/eclypsium to learn more about them!

Sponsored By

Eclypsium
Full episode and show notes

Guest

Founder at OpenSecurityTraining2

Xeno began leading BIOS security research projects at MITRE in 2011. His team’s first public talks started appearing in 2013, which led to a flurry of presentations on BIOS-level vulnerabilities up through 2014. In 2015 he co-founded LegbaCore. And after presenting a firmware worm that could spread between Macs via Apple’s EFI-based BIOS and Thunderbolt Ethernet adapters, he ended up working for Apple. There he worked on securing all the lesser-known firmwares on Macs and peripherals – everything from 3rd party GPUs to SecureBoot for monitors! He worked on the x86-side of the T2 SecureBoot architecture, and his final project was leading the M1 SecureBoot architecture – being directly responsible for designing a system that could provide iOS-level security, while still allowing customer choice to trust arbitrary non-Apple code such as Linux bootloaders. He left Apple in Dec. 2020 after the M1 Macs shipped, so he could work full time on OpenSecurityTraining2.

Hosts

Principal Security Researcher at Eclypsium
Principal Cyber Strategist at Eclypsium

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