EFIgy is an open-source tool and API framework developed by Duo Labs (the research division of Cisco Duo [) to address critical security vulnerabilities lingering in computer hardware firmware, specifically the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) [.
The tool was born out of a groundbreaking empirical study titled “The Apple of Your EFI: Findings From an Empirical Study of EFI Security,” which revealed that millions of seemingly up-to-date computers were completely exposed to “below the operating system” hardware attacks [. The Security Problem: Threats Beyond the OS
Traditional cybersecurity tools live inside the Operating System (OS). However, EFI is the foundational code stored directly on the motherboard that boots the computer before the OS even starts [.
High Privilege Level: Because EFI runs “below” the OS and hypervisors, malware that infects EFI (like the famous Thunderstrike or the CIA’s Sonic Screwdriver exploits) gains total control over the machine [, Jacques.
Persistent Infection: Standard defense mechanisms cannot see or scan this layer [. If an attacker installs an EFI rootkit, wiping the hard drive or reinstalling the OS will not remove the malware [.
Silent Failures: Duo Labs analyzed over 73,000 Mac computers and discovered that 4.2% were running incorrect, outdated, or unpatched EFI firmware [. This happened because bundle OS updates often failed to install the firmware portion, doing so completely silently without alerting the user or system administrator [. What EFIgy Does
Because systems were failing to update firmware silently, leaving IT administrators completely blind to the threat, Duo Labs built EFIgy to provide missing visibility [. The Hardware and Firmware Integrity Journey
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