Uefi (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) Done by Nuriddinov Davron, student of group 424-21

UEFI’s evolution from EFI BIOS has been in use since the advent of disk OS computers in the mid-1970s. In 1981, IBM was the first vendor to incorporate BIOS in PCs, a move that prompted broad industry adoption. The emergence of UEFI parallels the increased drive densities used for modern application workloads. Intel developed the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) as an outgrowth of its 64-bit Itanium server architecture in the 1990s, a technology codeveloped with computer maker Hewlett Packard (HP). The industry perceived EFI as a way to address the memory and processing limitations of BIOS in X86 server architectures. Those limitations included 16-bit computing mode, bounded system memory and tedious assembly language programming. EFI, subsequently renamed Intel Boot Initiative, technically remains the property of Intel, although the vendor ceased sole development of the specification following the release of EFI version 1.10 in 2005.

Booting up: UEFI vs BIOS Most new desktop PCs, laptops and some tablets bundle UEFI firmware that runs in compatibility support mode for older 32-bit Windows. Computer manufacturers are expected to support BIOS in the near term, but the transition to UEFI is well underway. In 2013, custody of the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) was transferred to UEFI Forum. Originally developed collaboratively by HP, Intel, Microsoft, Phoenix Technologies and Toshiba, ACPI is an open standard for BIOS that governs how much power is delivered to each peripheral device.

Advantages of UEFI As computer makers gradually move away from BIOS, they typically integrate UEFI firmware that runs with Compatibility Support Module (CSM) in modern devices. Although not intended as a long-term solution, CSM enables UEFI-based machines to launch in legacy BIOS mode to work with older Windows versions and other OSes. However, users may find it preferable to upgrade to the latest version of the OS to realize the value of UEFI.

UEFI disadvantages, or when to boot from BIOS Software is always a target for threat actors, and UEFI is no exception. One such attack, dubbed TrickBot, surfaced in December 2020. TrickBot malware works by attempting to spy on device firmware, which could permit malicious actors to subvert the boot process and gain access to the OS.