Equation Group : Hard disk firmware infection My renewed interest in computer security was triggered by the wonderfully detailed article on Ars Technica about the alleged NSA program , dubbed Equation group, to plant code into hard disk firmware. The beauty of the approach was that this could be: Done over the internet - through a compromised system Impossible to detect via a scan - only a detailed network analysis could expose this The way in which it was exposed by Kaspersky Labs - partly by taking over expired domains that acted as control centers. The biggest reason why I was so intrigued by this event is the article itself. It is detailed when it needs to be and brief where it needs to be. Its perfect for someone who wants to understand the issue and has just a little knowledge of what computer systems are. Read it. This article is a thing of beauty. How “omnipotent” hackers tied to NSA hid for 14 years—and were found at last Lenovo's ...