Since it's not been clearly stated: One attack vector might be that I step out to the bathroom for 5 minutes without locking computer, and evil hacker just dumps all my passwords before I come back.
I think it's worthwhile considering this. There's a reason why password managers ask for a master password or passkey after 10 minutes. Since I thought Chrome relied on an encrypted enclave, it isn't quite feasible to extract passwords easily even with root access.
Yes, you shouldn't leave your computer unattended. But that doesn't mean designing products that make exploiting the inevitable slipup fatal.
Did they ever fix PCIe over thunderbolt security? seems like the security for it prompting to enable on plug vanished in 2019...it could read memory in some systems and that probably didn't matter if your machine was locked or not
> Did they ever fix PCIe over thunderbolt security?
It seems to depend on whether you're on a desktop or mobile device. [1]
> macOS 13 Ventura was released in 2022 and for portable Macs with Apple CPUs Apple introduced a feature known as ‘Accessory Security’ (also known as ‘Restricted Mode’)
> By default, portable Macs (i.e. laptops) with an Apple CPU running macOS 13 Ventura or newer version of macOS will require the end user to authenticate and approve a Thunderbolt device when initially connected.
> Stationary Macs (i.e. desktops) with an Apple CPU running macOS 13 Ventura or newer version of macOS do NOT implement the ‘Accessory Security’ feature. As a result, Thunderbolt devices will be automatically approved and authenticated when initially connected.
Anecdotally, I have had Dell and Lenovo laptops with Thunderbolt and in Linux I had to manually approve each new device before it would function. [2]
[1] https://kb.plugable.com/docking-stations-and-video/do-i-need...
[2] https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Thunderbolt#User_device_aut...