In the constant race between cybersecurity and cyber threats, a disturbing discovery has been made: an invisible access, or “backdoor,” in the firmware of millions of PC motherboards produced by the well-known Taiwanese manufacturer Gigabyte.

The discovery was made by a team of independent cybersecurity researchers. According to their report, invisible access could allow a potential hacker to take control of a system without the user being aware of it.

Gigabyte, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware, has sold millions of these motherboards worldwide. This makes the finding particularly troubling, given the vast number of users who may be at risk.

Firmware, being the most basic software in a computer system, has complete control over the hardware with which it is associated. A breach at this level can lead to serious consequences, such as unauthorized access to sensitive data, modification of system behavior, or even remote control of hardware.

Gigabyte has not yet released an official statement regarding the discovery. However, it is presumable that the company is working to fix the problem, probably through a firmware update that will remove the invisible access.

Importantly, there are currently no reports of malevolent use of this backdoor. However, the technical details of invisible access have not been made public to prevent them from being exploited by potential malicious parties.

Gigabyte motherboard users are strongly encouraged to keep their systems up-to-date and to monitor any official communication from Gigabyte regarding this issue.

This finding underscores the importance of security at the firmware level. Because of its invisible nature and deeply embedded in computer systems, any breach at this level can have devastating consequences. In an increasingly digitized and connected world, it is critical that manufacturers, researchers and users work together to keep our systems secure.