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Intel x86 processors have special hardware hole
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Recent Intel x86 processors implement a secret, powerful control mechanism that runs on a separate chip that no one is allowed to audit or examine.

    The Intel Management Engine (ME) is a subsystem composed of a special 32-bit ARC microprocessor that's physically located inside the chipset. It is an extra general purpose computer running a firmware blob.

    When you purchase your system with a mainboard and Intel x86 CPU, you are also buying this hardware add-on: an extra computer that controls the main CPU. This extra computer runs completely out-of-band with the main x86 CPU meaning that it can function totally independently even when your main CPU is in a low power state like S3 (suspend).

    Although the ME firmware is cryptographically protected with RSA 2048, researchers have been able to exploit weaknesses in the ME firmware and take partial control of the ME on early models. This makes ME a huge security loophole, and it has been called a very powerful rootkit mechanism. Once a system is compromised by a rootkit, attackers can gain administration access and undetectably attack the computer.

    https://boingboing.net/2016/06/15/intel-x86-processors-ship-with.html

  • 1 Reply sorted by
  • karlkarl

    It's not really a "secret" mechanism, find official documentation here and Intel's client software to access the AMT interface here (when enabled, you can also access the AMT interface via an ordinary web browser).

    The problem is not that this "remote control technology" is a secret per se, they are advertising it as a feature for enterprises to control lots of PCs centrally.

    The problem with this technology (and similar ones in AMD and ARM CPUs - such as "TrustZone") is that it is an intentional backdoor to a system that could easily exploited by criminals if there's any bug in it (which usually is the case with complex software) and that is certainly exploited by agencies that can force the CPU manufacturers to give them access to this backdoor.

    And since Intel (and others) refuse to publish the code of these "remote control devices", there is reason to believe they are not really secure at all - security by obscurity never works.

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