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Report: ‘Nearly All’ Computers Vulnerable to New Data-Theft Bug

Even encrypted devices are at risk, say experts.

Almost all modern computers—even those with disk encryption—are possible targets of a new firmware bug that can steal all kinds of sensitive data within minutes, experts warn. Cybersecurity company F-Secure published findings Wednesday that show no existing security measures are tough enough to prevent data being stolen. “We are convinced that anybody tasked with stealing data off laptops would have already come to the same conclusions as us,” said security consultant Olle Segerdahl. He warned that a successful attacker can steal “anything that happens to be in memory,” such as passwords and corporate network credentials. The flaw is a development of what is known as a “cold boot attack,” which hackers use to steal data from a shut-down computer, TechCrunch reports.