A dedicated microcontroller that securely stores cryptographic keys and measures the integrity of the boot components (Measured Boot). 2. Firmware Integrity and Recovery
Hardware-forced verification of the initial BIOS code before the CPU executes it. Attacking and Defending BIOS
Operates in System Management Mode (SMM), ring -2, above the OS kernel and hypervisor. Operates in System Management Mode (SMM), ring -2,
Modern systems employ automated defenses to detect and repair firmware corruption. The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) and its modern
If an attacker has physical access to the machine, they can bypass digital security controls.
The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) and its modern successor, the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), represent the most foundational software layer of a computer. Securing it is paramount because code executing at this level operates with the highest possible privileges, often invisible to the operating system and standard security software. 🛡️ The Foundation: Understanding BIOS/UEFI