---
pwnie for most over-hyped bug

Awarded to the researcher/team who discovered a bug resulting in the most hype on the Internets and in the traditional media. Extra points for bugs that turn out to be impossible to exploit in practice.

Super Micro - The big hack
Credit: Jordan Robertson and Michael Riley of Bloomberg

China hacked all our computers by implanting a tiny chip on Super Micro’s motherboards.

A top secret probe revealed that this chip, the size of a grain of rice, could allow attackers to create a backdoor into any network that contained one of the altered machines.

The story had every buzzword that make any CISO want to retire: supply chain interdiction, state sponsored, China, Snowden. It was said to affect major banks, government contractors, and even the company they all aspire to be, Apple.  This was definitely the computer security story of the year, maybe the decade, except for one small detail.

It seems it was all bullshit.
--- https://pwnies.com/winners/