News and Analysis

Korean cybersecurity students have developed a proof-of-concept malware called “Bootkitty”, capable of infecting the boot process of Linux systems. This is a major shift in cybersecurity, as prior bootkits have been Windows-specific. Bootkitty, while still somewhat unfinished, bypasses the Secure Boot process and can persist through system reboots, and even physical replacement of certain parts. Experts have warned that bootloaders present a largely overlooked but growing attack surface.