Does anyone know about similar AMD vulnerabilities?
The cynic in me thinks that some execs got FISA orders.
How can the consumer stop someone from exploiting this hack?
2) Disconnect from the network. This, of course, won't stop local attacks on the AMT or ME.
This is why I've been complaining about the ME forever. Forcing a privileged black-box that can't be disabled in to every CPU is... not suspicious all.
Even worse are some implementations. I have a Supermicro all-in-one MB that I used in building a home storage server. It has two gig-ethernet ports. About two months ago, I was rearranging around the machine, and when I plugged it back in, apparently I switched the ethernet port plugged in to the switch to the "primary" interface.
And one of the monitors goes off a few minutes later - there's a new network device on my private network. Turns out a web interface to the ME comes up automatically when using the primary NIC - it got a DHCP lease and was happily waiting to be managed - with the default creds ADMIN/ADMIN.
I thought that we had that one figured out, but apparently not. Yes, I should have read the manual for the motherboard, but that's beyond absurd. And, I guess, a good reminder to trust nothing.
IBMs POWER processors are comparable to high-end Xeons and the specifications are entirely open.
I'd love to see a new "Talos" effort in light of recent events: https://www.crowdsupply.com/raptor-computing-systems/talos-s...
[Remove Intel ME](https://github.com/corna/me_cleaner) to the largest extent possible. I don't know of equivalent tools for AMD, though, which also has similar systems in place.
If it's processing power you need, I guess the ASUS KGPE-D16 with Libreboot would to the trick. As a laptop - X200, X200T, T400, T400s, T500, etc. You can find a list of vendors here: https://libreboot.org/suppliers.html
> When contacted by Microsoft, Intel said the PLATINUM group wasn't using any vulnerability in the Intel AMT SOL interface, but this was another classic case of bad guys using a technology developed for legitimate purposes to do bad things.
Worst excuse ever. "Look guys, at least it's not a backdoor we left on purpose!!!"
m(