The brand VIVO is a Chinese smartphone maker that is trying to create its own mark in the global market. VIVO recently rolled out the Android 13-based Funtouch OS 13’s beta version for its VIVO X80 Pro.

And now, the brand has launched its VIVO X80 Pro in the global market with the Funtouch OS 13’s stable update. VIVO X80 Pro in India has come with its new firmware version which requires a download of 6.24 GB. It is accompanied by the November 1st, 2022 security patch as well as other new features.

The new features include Phone Cooling as well as the iManager app. As per VIVO and its reports, these new features will help to protect the phone from overheating. As this phone cooling feature reduces the running of apps by lowering the CPU frequency of the VIVO V80 Pro phone.

Although this Funtouch OS 13 stable update does not bring about any major changes to the UI of Vivo X80 Pro, you must check out this update. So if you are a resident of India and haven’t checked this update yet, go to your VIVO X80 Pro’s phone settings.

Then, safely download this update on your phone. If you currently do not reside in India and stay in another part of the world, check this update if you own this phone. You never know you might receive it sooner rather than later.

Here are the complete specs of the Vivo X80 Pro

Be on the lookout for other relevant security updates or new firmware. Stay connected with us for more such tech-related news as well as the latest updates in the world of technology and innovation.

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Security researchers have found a threat actor known as CosmicStrand UEFI, particularly used by the Chinese-speaking hackers.

Earlier, the alternative version of this malware was discovered by the malware investigators at Qihoo360, an internet and mobile security developer, who named it as ‘Spy Shadow Trojan’.

Accordingly, the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) does the work of connecting a computer’s operating system with it’s firmware of the underlying hardware (processors and memory). Typically, firmware is a computer software which offers a low-level control for a device’s specific hardware.

Consequently, if a malware is injected into the UEFI firmware image, it is very difficult to detect the malware in the system. Also, being constant in nature, this malware cannot be removed by any methods including reinstalling the operating system or by replacing the storage drive.

However, it is still unknown that how the CosmicStrand managed to get inserted into the firmware images of the targeted systems. But majorly, the researchers found this malware on the devices having ASUS and Gigabyte motherboards.

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As per the recent news, we came to know from the Conti leaks, which revealed that the renowned ransomware organization has been developing firmware attacks for the Intel Management Engine (ME) technology. A Ukrainian hacker began publishing material taken from the cybercrime organization in late February after Conti showed support for Russia during its invasion of Ukraine. The information included chat logs, credentials, email addresses, C&C server details, and malware source code.

Moreover, the evidence revealed that the cybercrime ring ran like any other business, with contractors, workers, and HR issues. The Conti Group has been researching firmware-based attacks, notably those targeting Intel ME, according to a study of the stolen chats undertaken by firmware and hardware security startup Eclypsium.

As per the sources, it states that Intel ME includes capabilities such as out-of-band management and anti-theft security for computers with Intel processors. Conti developers, according to Eclypsium, have been prefetching the ME interface in an attempt to identify undocumented commands and weaknesses, as well as trying to circumvent security in general. The hackers were also considering developing a System Management Mode (SMM) implant that would enable them to tweak the kernel without being detected.

Conversations amongst the cybercriminals suggested that they were also looking at research made public by prominent Russian cybersecurity firms. Eclypsium stated that no new or unpatched vulnerabilities have been detected in Intel chipsets, but advised that the biggest issue is businesses neglecting to update chipset firmware regularly.

We also came to know that more than a dozen Intel warnings released between 2017 and 2020, according to the company’s experts, identify tens of high-impact ME issues, including ones that allow uncontrolled execution of code and privilege escalation. The intruder could completely damage the system if they acquire access to the firmware. They might also exploit this access to maintain persistence and evade security solutions and device protections, all of which are valuable capabilities for an organization like Conti. Malicious hackers can profit from firmware-based longevity by reselling credentials to other threat actors or releasing more ransomware packages at a later time. The company has presented several hypothetical attack scenarios that focus on various defenses and settings that the targeted machine may have.

According to recent reports, it claims that the Conti brand has grown toxic as a result of its ties to the Russian government. Due to Russian sanctions, victims found it impossible to pay ransoms. As a result, the operation’s organizational structure has been dramatically altered, and the Conti ransomware operation appears to have been shut down.

Furthermore, the threat actor appears to have moved to a decentralized operation involving multiple autonomous organizations. While some of these organizations don’t use file-encrypting software and instead rely entirely on data theft to gain money, others continue to use locker malware. Firmware exploits like those reported by Eclypsium could be beneficial to both sorts of organizations.

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