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An attacker who gains physical access to a corporate PC with an Intel chip could exploit the built-in Active Management Technology to backdoor the system in about 30 seconds, unless default AMT credentials have been changed, Finnish security firm F-Secure warns.

"The attack is almost deceptively simple to enact, but it has incredible destructive potential," Harry Sintonen, a senior security consultant at F-Secure, says in a news release. "In practice, it can give a local attacker complete control over an individual's work laptop, despite even the most extensive security measures."

The attack would bypass any other security protections in place, including a BIOS password, Trusted Platform Module PIN or Bitlocker full-disk encryption,...

Malaysia's central bank says it detected and successfully blocked a Tuesday attack that attempted to steal funds via fraudulent SWIFT interbank money-moving messages.

"All unauthorized transactions were stopped through prompt action in strong collaboration with SWIFT, other central banks and financial institutions," the country's Kuala Lumpur-based central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, says in a statement.

Brussels-based SWIFT is a global, member-owned cooperative that provides secure financial messaging services used by more than 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. SWIFT has been on the information security defensive since February 2016, when attackers stole $81 million from the...