Re:MINIX: Intel's hidden in-chip operating system
by kbart on Tuesday November 07, 2017 @07:59AM
(#15642958)
What would NSA spooks have achieved besides confirming that hardware backdoor are real (to those remaining few who still doubt)? Snowden could have simply took out HDD, put in into the new machine and resume his operation.
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Re:MINIX: Intel's hidden in-chip operating system
by gradschool on Tuesday November 07, 2017 @08:40AM
(#15643239)
The ME has full control of the hardware and could have wiped the hard drive before bricking the machine. The NSA presumably would have preferred a bit of bad PR to actual classified information being leaked. A better argument would be that all laptops approved for use by NSA staff routinely have the HAP bit enabled.
Re:MINIX: Intel's hidden in-chip operating system
by kbart on Tuesday November 07, 2017 @09:00AM
(#15643370)
I somehow suspect that Snowden was smart enough not to keep all eggs in a single basket. His laptop might as well has been mugged or stolen.
Re:MINIX: Intel's hidden in-chip operating system
by WillReplyfFood on Tuesday November 07, 2017 @10:41AM
(#15644268)
My guess is that with insider knowledge and a good firewall, a no-updates policy you can prevent phoning into the backdoor for a while.