Phlashing

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"Phlashing" attacks could render network hardware useless

Most computer security coverage focuses on the PC realm, but Rich Smith, head of HP's Systems Security Lab, has identified a potential security flaw within a network's physical hardware rather than a typical desktop or server system. Smith's report focuses on a class of devices he refers to as Network Enabled Embedded Devices (NEEDS for short), and how such systems could be attacked at the firmware level through a process he refers to as "phlashing."

Attacking system firmware isn't a new tactic—the CIH/Chernobyl virus was capable of overwriting BIOS firmware back in 1998—but focusing such attacks on network hardware would be an unusual step, and could prove quite successful in at least the short term.