In April, hackers attacked the systems of MSI and, according to security company Binarly, managed to steal both private keys and Intel BootGuard keys. This breach has been reported to have serious consequences for other PC manufacturers. Binarly’s CEO, Alex Matrosov, took to Twitter to reveal that the leaked private keys are used to sign MSI firmware on devices and ensure the security of the company’s devices. There are concerns that the leaked keys could lead to critical security vulnerabilities as it gives attackers the ability to sign malicious software. The leaked Intel BootGuard keys, which are used to verify the boot process of a computer with an Intel CPU, have also been found to be used by 116 MSI products.
The leak of these keys at MSI could also have an impact on other companies in the industry, as they are known to use the same keys, increasing the risk to their devices. It was previously reported that MSI had fallen victim to a cyber attack but no details were given regarding the type of attack or who was behind it. However, the ransomware group Money Message claimed responsibility for the attack and demanded four million dollars from MSI. MSI has advised its customers to only install firmware and bios updates from the official MSI website.
