Hitting the Hardware: Ransomware Moves to the CPU

A Rapid7 researcher created a proof-of-concept demonstrating that ransomware can be embedded in CPU microcode by leveraging an AMD Zen microcode-loading vulnerability; while not released or observed in the wild, the PoC highlights that hardware-level ransomware could evade conventional defenses, be difficult to remediate (potentially requiring CPU replacement), and underscores the need for stronger hardware security and monitoring.