The other day it was noticed that an unknown number of Asus computers were the targets of an attack that enables hackers to place malicious code on the machines. This was first revealed by cyber security company Kaspersky Lab. The attack is said to have targeted a relatively small and very specific “target group”, but who these are has not yet been communicated.
In a statement, Asus announces that it has now closed the security hole in its own update service Live Update, which was exploited in the attack, and has taken further measures to prevent something similar from happening again. In addition, a diagnostic tool has been released so that worried users can check whether they have been affected or not. You can read Asus’ report on the incident and download the current tool on this page.
Affected customers are advised to take a backup of important files and then restore the system to factory settings.
The attack, named Operation Shadow Hammer by Kaspersky, is believed to have taken place between June and November 2018.