> If Intel would just allow an owner to build and flash their own Intel ME version using their own private/public keys then no one would have an issue with that.
Note that unless you manufacture the CPU yourself you still cannot be sure if there are no hidden backdoors. For example the ME could pretend it's really running your firmware but at the same time running some hidden code only delegating some operations to your code.
I understand and agree with you to a certain extent, but we're not just talking about a couple of assembly commands that could be misused. The Intel ME is a FULL Operating System running MINIX Linux (edit: MINIX is not Linux, as corrected by @dragonwriter). It has it's own network and apps, that run inside a running kernel, of which you have no access to.
Even if the intentions are 100% legit, this is an operating system that you can not update (as frequently as your main operating system), and has many attack vectors.
Yes, it could pretend to run your firmware, but secretly load it's own, but it's actually quite hard to hide a 5mb (2mb min) piece of firmware in the chip. Research microchip decapping. You can clearly see the different regions of the chip.
But yes, it could be possible to hide a few x64 instructions, or circuits that could be manipulated. But running a remote control environment that can share your screen without your knowledge can only really be done clearly by running a large separate application stack alongside your main chip. (For now, who knows where we'll be in 5 to 10 years).
Hi @turblety, finally I see someone concerned about MINIX and everything that Intel ME can do to invade us, I read most of your comments, and you are pretty aware of the matter, is there a pc/chipset different from Intel and AMD that is free of this backdored tools?? I read on 1 comment from you something about IBM's OpenPOWER? thanks
Wikipedia says that MINIX is POSIX-certified, so it's pretty close (Unix-like). It doesn't seem anyone has shelled out the money for SUS certification, so it can't officially use the UNIX trademark.
Note that unless you manufacture the CPU yourself you still cannot be sure if there are no hidden backdoors. For example the ME could pretend it's really running your firmware but at the same time running some hidden code only delegating some operations to your code.