"backdoor on all Toshiba hard drives" is an enormous security concern for all world citizens.

Importantly though they said it was sending data back, THAT was the issue because the navy had used their drives, so basically stealing us gov data.

Military staff would never lie and are also known to be very tech savvy. Story seems legit to me.

perfect! :) The story makes no sense, but as always there is a small grain of truth in there. Asianometry: Toshiba’s Big Technology Export Scandal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaRyqAVIkwI

https://thehackernews.com/2013/07/Lenovo-banned-Intelligence... https://thehackernews.com/search/label/Lenovo%20Backdoor%20M...

But also keep in mind the NSA has been backdooring and infiltrating both domestic and foreign commercial entities & critical infrastructure for decades. We can't pretend this is shocking.

How can we know this is true, and how would a HDD backdoor even work? What's the exploit here?

Does the firmware on the HDD controller magically connect to the internet via the SATA cable and through the host controller to siphon your data to the Japanese alphabet agencies?

Sounds pretty absurd.

That's ... what I just said.

>An attacker with access to the firmware could manipulate it to create a backdoor.

You can create backdoors for every device, not just HDDs, why should Toshiba be liable here? iPhones and Androids have tonnes of exploits written for them? Are we extorting them too for SW bugs that lead to vulnerabilities?

>This might involve modifying the firmware to allow remote control, unauthorized data access, or other malicious actions

Remote access how? Can I talk to the exploited firmware of your HDD via the internet while magically bypassing firewalls and the OS security? Is that a technically feasible thing or are you just speculating without background knowledge?

Sounds like first you'd need to compromise the firewalls, OS, SATA controller and network layers to let outsiders talk to the compromised HDD firmware via the internet and if the attacker already has that kind of remote access to your system, then you're already screwed and compromised and the HDD firmware is the least of your worries.

Even if remote HDD firmware vulnerabilities are not technically feasible and only work if you get your hands on the HDD, in cyber-secvurity world, if your HDD/laptop/PC is in the hands of the attacker, then you can consider it already compromised regardless of HDD firmware security.

It all sounds like a nothing burgher or pure FUD.

2. That still means you need physical acces to the victim's system to exploit, nothing that can be exploited remotely.

If Toshiba created a malicous firmware with a backdoor they would be liable for the backdoor.

That's a big IF. Where's the proof for that though? Or is it like the imaginary WMDs in Irak?

Backdoors are usually cleverly disguised software bugs specifically to give you deniability if you ever get caught. It's not like the Jupânese agencies would put their names and signatures in the backdoor's firmare image.

I can tell you though, 1,000% EVERY Japanese sdf ship has at least 2 US Navy person on board when deployed. That's a fact.

The US intelligence apparatus discovers that a Japanese company has backdoored all its hard drives which are apparently also installed on USN vessels.

The US, out of benevolence for this non-US company's reputation, I guess, decides to agree to a secret deal with its ally.

The secret deal is that US Navy personnel will be put onto Japanese naval vessels, which in no way remedies the problem of backdoored hard drives that supposedly exist. Random JMSDF captains know the details of this supposedly secret deal and discuss it freely without consequence.

Imagine believing this.

Japan has been a friendly country and valuable Pacific strategic ally for decades. What exactly is the US supposedly gaining here?

Maybe it's more likely there's an exchange program between allied Navies, like there is with dozens of other countries??

> I only got told the story by the commander while we were drinking in our state rooms in the JSDF ship, maybe he was lying?

But you're presenting it here with way more credence than that justifies. This is a conspiracy theory and unsurprisingly this is exactly how they get spread.