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Hugo Landau has written a blog post about why Intel will never let hardware owners control the Management Engine. The Intel Managment Engine (ME) is a secondary microprocessor ensconced in recent Intel x86 chips, running an Intel-signed, proprietary, binary blob which provides remote access over the network as well as direct access to memory and peripherals. Because of the code signing restrictions enforced by the hardware, it cannot be modified or replaced by the user.
Intel/AMD will never allow machine owners to control the code executing on the ME/PSP because they have decided to build a business on preventing you from doing so. In particular, it's likely that they're actually contractually obligated not to let you control these processors.
The reason is that Intel literally decided to collude with Hollywood to integrate DRM into their CPUs; they conspired with media companies to lock you out of certain parts of your machine. After all, this is the company that created HDCP.
This DRM functionality is implemented on the ME/PSP. Its ability to implement DRM depends on you not having control over it, and not having control over the code that runs on it. Allowing you to control the code running on the ME would directly compromise an initiative which Intel has been advancing for over a decade.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 24 2018, @05:21PM (1 child)
I have asked this before, never saw an answer. This ME has its own network stack and works with the ethernet port on the motherboard. So suppose you bought a network card with a different chip and plugged it in and used it, and not eth0. Linux would have a driver for that chip, but the ME wouldn't, so it seems to me the ME could never do the unwanted stuff, without connection to some mothership. Would that work? Is this theory testable? Anybody out who'd like to try it? Thanks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 24 2018, @09:57PM
It would work, but 'slots' are becoming rare, except for video. ( of course they could just block it at the board level " no drivers, no power for you".. )
USB may be your only option.