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Reading: Firmware
In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a

tangible electronic component with embedded software instructions, such as a BIOS.
Typically, those software instructions are used to tell an electronic device how to operate.
As of 2013, most firmware can be updated. Typical examples of devices containing
firmware are embedded systems (such as traffic lights, consumer appliances, and digital
watches), computers, computer peripherals, mobile phones, and digital cameras. The
firmware contained in these devices provides the control program for the device.
Firmware is held in non-volatile memory devices such as ROM, EPROM, or flash memory.
Changing the firmware of a device may rarely or never be done during its economic lifetime;
some firmware memory devices are permanently installed and cannot be changed after
manufacture. Common reasons for updating firmware include fixing bugs or adding features
to the device. This may require ROM integrated circuits to be physically replaced, or flash
memory to be reprogrammed through a special procedure. Firmware such as the ROM
BIOS of a personal computer may contain only elementary basic functions of a device and
may only provide services to higher-level software. Firmware such as the program of an
embedded system may be the only program that will run on the system and provide all of its
functions.
Before integrated circuits, other firmware devices included a discrete semiconductor diode
matrix. The Apollo guidance computer had firmware consisting of a specially manufactured
core memory plane, called "core rope memory," where data were stored by physically
threading wires through (1) or around (0) the core storing each data bit.
Origin of the term

Ascher Opler coined the term "firmware" in a 1967 Datamation article. Originally, it meant
the contents of a writable control store (a small specialized high speed memory), containing
microcode that defined and implemented the computer's instruction set, and that could be
reloaded to specialize or modify the instructions that the central processing unit (CPU) could
execute. As originally used, firmware contrasted with hardware (the CPU itself) and
software (normal instructions executing on a CPU). It was not composed of CPU machine
instructions, but of lower-level microcode involved in the implementation of machine
instructions. It existed on the boundary between hardware and software; thus the name
"firmware".
Still later, popular usage extended the word "firmware" to denote anything ROM-resident,
including processor machine-instructions for BIOS, bootstrap loaders, or specialized
applications.
Until the mid-1990s, updating firmware typically involved replacing a storage medium
containing firmware, usually a socketed ROM integrated circuit. Flash memory allows
firmware to be updated without physically removing an integrated circuit from the system.
An error during the update process may make the device non-functional, or "bricked."
Personal computers
ROM BIOS firmware on a Baby AT motherboard
In some respects, the various firmware components are as important as the operating
system in a working computer. However, unlike most modern operating systems, firmware
rarely has a well-evolved automatic mechanism of updating itself to fix any functionality
issues detected after shipping the unit.
The BIOS may be "manually" updated by a user, using a small utility program. In contrast,
firmware in storage devices (hard disks, DVD drives, flash storage) rarely gets updated,
even when flash (rather than ROM) storage is used for the firmware; there are no
standardized mechanisms for detecting or updating firmware versions.
Most computer peripherals are themselves special-purpose computers. Devices such as

printers, scanners, cameras and USB flash drives have internally stored firmware; some
devices may also permit field upgrading of their firmware.
Some low-cost peripherals no longer contain non-volatile memory for firmware, and instead
rely on the host system to transfer the device control program from a disk file or CD.
Consumer products
As of 2010 most portable music players support firmware upgrades. Some companies use
firmware updates to add new playable file formats (codecs); iriver added Vorbis playback
support this way, for instance. Other features that may change with firmware updates
include the GUI or even the battery life. Most mobile phones have a Firmware Over The Air
firmware upgrade capability for much the same reasons; some may even be upgraded to
enhance reception or sound quality, illustrating the fact that firmware is used at more than
one level in complex products (in a CPU-like microcontroller versus in a digital signal
processor, in this particular case).
Automobiles
Since 1996 most automobiles have employed an on-

board computer and various sensors to detect mechanical problems. As of 2010 modern
vehicles also employ computer-controlled ABS systems and computer-operated
Transmission Control Units (TCU). The driver can also get in-dash information while driving
in this manner, such as real-time fuel-economy and tire-pressure readings. Local dealers
can update most vehicle firmware.
Examples
Examples of firmware include:
 In consumer products:
 Timing and control systems for washing machines

 Controlling sound and video attributes, as well as the channel list, in modern
TVs
 EPROM chips used in the Eventide H-3000 series of digital music processors
 In computers:
 The BIOS found in IBM-compatible personal computers

 The (U)EFI-compliant firmware used on Itanium systems, Intel-based
computers from Apple, and many Intel desktop computer motherboards
 Open Firmware, used in SPARC-based computers from Sun Microsystems
and Oracle Corporation, PowerPC-based computers from Apple, and
computers from Genesi
 ARCS, used in computers from Silicon Graphics
 Kickstart, used in the Amiga line of computers (POST, hardware init + Plug
and Play auto-configuration of peripherals, kernel, etc.)
 RTAS (Run-Time Abstraction Services), used in computers from IBM
 The Common Firmware Environment (CFE)
 In routers and firewalls:
 LibreWRT—a 100% free software router distribution based on the Linux-libre

kernel
 IPFire—an open-source firewall/router distribution based on the Linux kernel
 fli4l—an open-source firewall/router distribution based on the Linux kernel
 OpenWrt—an open-source firewall/router distribution based on the Linux
kernel
 m0n0wall—an embedded firewall distribution of FreeBSD
 In NAS systems:
 NAS4Free—an open-source NAS operating system based on FreeBSD 9.1

 Openfiler—a open-source NAS operating system based on the Linux kernel
Flashing
Flashing involves the overwriting of existing firmware or data on EEPROM modules present
in an electronic device with new data. This can be done to upgrade a device or to change
the provider of a service associated with the function of the device, such as changing from
one mobile phone service provider to another or installing a new operating system. If
firmware is upgradable, it is often done via a program from the provider, and will often allow
the old firmware to be saved before upgrading so it can be reverted to if the process fails, or
if the newer version performs worse.
Firmware hacking
Sometimes, third parties create an unofficial new or modified ("aftermarket") version of
firmware to provide new features or to unlock hidden functionality; this is referred to as
custom firmware (also "Custom Firmware" in the video game console community). An
example is Rockbox as a firmware replacement forportable media players. There are many
homebrew projects for video game consoles, which often unlock general-purpose
computing functionality in previously limited devices (e.g., running Doom on iPods).
Firmware hacks usually take advantage of the firmware update facility on many devices to
install or run themselves. Some, however, must resort to exploits in order to run, because
the manufacturer has attempted to lock the hardware to stop it from running unlicensed
code.
Most firmware hacks are free software.
HDD firmware hacks

The Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab discovered that a group of developers it refers to as the
"Equation Group" has developed hard disk drive firmware modifications for various drive
models, containing a trojan horse that allows data to be stored on the drive in locations that
will not be erased even if the drive is formatted or wiped. Although the Kaspersky Lab report
did not explicitly claim that this group is part of the United States National Security Agency
(NSA), evidence obtained from the code of various Equation Group software suggests that
they are part of the NSA.
Researchers from the Kaspersky Lab categorized the undertakings by Equation Group as
the most advanced hacking operation ever uncovered, also documenting around 500
infections caused by the Equation Group in at least 42 countries.
Security risks
Mark Shuttleworth, founder of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has described proprietary
firmware as a security risk, saying that "firmware on your device is theNSA's best friend"
and calling firmware "a trojan horse of monumental proportions". He has pointed out that
low-quality, nonfree firmware is a major threat to system security: "Your biggest mistake is
to assume that the NSA is the only institution abusing this position of trust – in fact, it's
reasonable to assume that all firmware is a cesspool of insecurity, courtesy of
incompetence of the highest degree from manufacturers, and competence of the highest
degree from a very wide range of such agencies". As a solution to this problem, he has
called for declarative firmware, which would describe "hardware linkage and dependencies"
and "should not include executable code".
Custom firmware hacks have also focused on injecting malware into devices such as
smartphones or USB devices. One such smartphone injection was demonstrated on the
Symbian OS at MalCon, a hacker convention. A USB device firmware hack
called BadUSB was presented at Black Hat USA 2014conference, demonstrating how a
USB flash drive microcontroller can be reprogrammed to spoof various other device types in
order to take control of a computer, exfiltrate data, or spy on the user. Other security
researchers have worked further on how to exploit the principles behind BadUSB, releasing
at the same time the source code of hacking tools that can be used to modify the behavior
of different USB devices.

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Reading: Firmware

In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a

Origin of the term

ROM BIOS firmware on a Baby AT motherboard

Most computer peripherals are themselves special-purpose computers. Devices such as

Since 1996 most automobiles have employed an on-

 Timing and control systems for washing machines

 The BIOS found in IBM-compatible personal computers

 In routers and firewalls:

 LibreWRT—a 100% free software router distribution based on the Linux-libre

 NAS4Free—an open-source NAS operating system based on FreeBSD 9.1

Most firmware hacks are free software.

HDD firmware hacks

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