Boot Integrity ensures that a system starts securely by verifying the integrity of its boot process, operating system, and associated components. This mitigation focuses on leveraging secure boot mechanisms, hardware-rooted trust, and runtime integrity checks to prevent tampering during the boot sequence. It is designed to thwart adversaries attempting to modify system firmware, bootloaders, or critical OS components.

• Implementation: Enable UEFI Secure Boot on all systems and configure it to allow only signed bootloaders and operating systems.
• Use Case: An adversary attempts to replace the system’s bootloader with a malicious version to gain persistence. Secure Boot prevents the untrusted bootloader from executing, halting the attack.

• Implementation: Configure systems to use TPM-based attestation for boot integrity, ensuring that any modification to the firmware, bootloader, or OS is detected.
• Use Case: A compromised firmware component alters the boot sequence. The TPM detects the change and triggers an alert, allowing the organization to respond before further damage.

• Implementation: Protect BIOS/UEFI settings with a strong password and limit physical access to devices.
• Use Case: An attacker with physical access attempts to disable Secure Boot or modify the boot sequence. The password prevents unauthorized changes.

• Implementation: Deploy solutions to verify the integrity of critical files and processes after boot.
• Use Case: A malware infection modifies kernel modules post-boot. Runtime integrity monitoring detects the modification and prevents the malicious module from loading.