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posted by n1 on Monday May 15 2017, @07:04AM   Printer-friendly
from the phme dept.

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

Since 2008, most of Intel's chipsets have contained a tiny homunculus computer called the "Management Engine" (ME). The ME is a largely undocumented master controller for your CPU: it works with system firmware during boot and has direct access to system memory, the screen, keyboard, and network. All of the code inside the ME is secret, signed, and tightly controlled by Intel. Last week, vulnerabilities in the Active Management (AMT) module in some Management Engines have caused lots of machines with Intel CPUs to be disastrously vulnerable to remote and local attackers. While AMT can be disabled, there is presently no way to disable or limit the Management Engine in general. Intel urgently needs to provide one.

[...] EFF believes that Intel needs to provide a minimum level of transparency and user control of the Management Engines inside our computers, in order to prevent this cybersecurity disaster from recurring. Unless that happens, we are concerned that it may not be appropriate to use Intel CPUs in many kinds of critical infrastructure systems.

It's a crying shame the what the EFF says doesn't hold a whole lot of weight.

Source: The Electronic Frontier Foundation


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  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday May 15 2017, @09:16AM (2 children)

    by kaszz (4211) on Monday May 15 2017, @09:16AM (#509878) Journal

    Not from what I have read. But then how can one be sure anyway?

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  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday May 15 2017, @12:24PM (1 child)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Monday May 15 2017, @12:24PM (#509965) Journal

    Um, network sniffer between the machine and the outside world?

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by kaszz on Monday May 15 2017, @05:00PM

      by kaszz (4211) on Monday May 15 2017, @05:00PM (#510114) Journal

      Then you got to be sure what to look for among the gazillion of bits passing over the network. And that the sniffer platform don't fool you either.

      Then there's the RF backdoor. Connect to your neighbor and establish a system prompt.