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Step 3: Reboot, with a twist

Step 3: Reboot, with a twist
With the two computers connected via an Ethernet cable, Applebaum clicked the "Restart" button to reboot the MacBook.

His next step was to convince the MacBook to run a program found over the network through Apple's NetBoot service. NetBoot is designed so system administrators of large companies can standardize on the same configuration and have everyone's Macintoshes boot from a server-based disk image. Activating NetBoot involves holding down the N key as the Mac restarts.

Even if Apple let customers disable NetBoot to prevent this kind of attack, there are other ways to pull it off, Applebaum says. The trick of supercooling memory with a can of compressed air--and transferring the physical chips to a different computer--would defeat any boot-time countermeasures that Apple deploys. The security vulnerability he's attempting to demonstrate really is more of a hardware problem than a software one.

  • Talkback
  • Most Recent of 17 Talkback(s)
Bit Locker
It seems to me that the problem resides in the TPM. I do not use it. I store my password on a memory stick whereas using TPM stores it in the RAM. If the password is not on the computer to begin with it can't be hacked.... (Read the rest)
Posted by: cobra96ds@... Posted on: 02/25/08 You are currently: a Guest | | Terms of Use
Supercooled memory?  Eriamjh | 02/21/08
Millions at stake in corporate espionage ...  terry flores | 02/21/08
re: back doors  CobraA1 | 02/21/08
Clearing memory at reboot would not work.  ye | 02/22/08
RE: Supercooled memory?  bfilipiak@... | 02/22/08
A few things to note  CobraA1 | 02/21/08
Careful there  georgeou | 02/21/08
hdiutil was simply used to show successful crack  terry flores | 02/21/08
RE: (Images: How to bypass FileVault, BitLocker security)  d1g1tal_ph3r3t | 02/21/08
RE: (Images: How to bypass FileVault, BitLocker security)  riverab0@... | 02/22/08
Addition  riverab0@... | 02/22/08
Cox  CassidyJames | 02/22/08
I would like to see this tried with Firmware locked  duane@... | 02/22/08
Info still unencrypted in RAM...  robert.rohr@... | 02/22/08
Bit Locker  cobra96ds@... | 02/25/08
Encyption Law  benjaminwright75205 | 02/22/08
This is freaky  John Musbach | 02/24/08

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