Intel has officially confirmed that the BIOS source code for its 12th generation Alder Lake processors has been leaked online, with copies available on sites like 4chan and Github.
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is the software that a computer’s microprocessor uses to start the system while it is running, and to manage communications between a computer’s operating system and devices such as a hard disk, keyboard, mouse, or printer.
Although no security vulnerabilities have been announced at the time of writing, this type of leak could reveal bugs in Intel hardware that could be taken advantage of.
What was revealed?
The leak is said to consist of a 6GB file containing tools and code for creating and optimizing BIOS/UEFI images.
However, the hardware giant said it “doesn’t think this exposes any new security vulnerabilities like [it does] Do not rely on information blackout as a security measure,” in a statement (Opens in a new tab) to me Tom’s devices.
If you find a vulnerability in your source code, you may be interested in reporting it to Intel’s Project Circuit Breaker. (Opens in a new tab) bug bounty program. This program gives between $500 to $100,000 per error, depending on how severe the problem is.
Intel has not provided any clue as to the source of the leak, but says it came via a third party.
The news comes at a time when semiconductor companies themselves have become common targets of cybercriminals’ efforts
It appears that Nvidia was hit by a potential cyber attack in February 2022, which forced the manufacturer to stop some offline services for certain parts of the business.
- Do you want to avoid becoming the next data leak story? Check out our guide to the best way to prevent data loss
