NSA Releases Guide to Mitigate BlackLotus Threat (Windows)
The National Security Agency (NSA) has released a guide on how to protect systems from the BlackLotus UEFI bootkit malware, which has been causing havoc since October 2022. BlackLotus is a sophisticated piece of malware that targets the earliest software stage of the boot process, making it extremely efficient and persistent. It can disable Windows Defender, BitLocker, and Hypervisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI), and it can also exploit a vulnerability in Secure Boot to bypass security measures. The NSA's guide provides recommendations on how to harden systems against BlackLotus, including: Keeping Windows and firmware up to date Using a UEFI-based Secure Boot implementation Enabling Secure Boot with a blacklist of known-vulnerable boot loaders Using a disk encryption solution that supports Secure Boot Implementing layered security controls The guide also includes information on how to identify and remove BlackLotus infections. The NSA's release of this guide is a timely r...