Story 2014-05-20 3MC lntel vPro chip gives snoops backdoor PC access

lntel vPro chip gives snoops backdoor PC access

by
Anonymous Coward
in security on (#3MC)
story imageBad news: you're still rooted six ways to Sunday. This article comes from September 2013, but before you complain it's not breaking news, note that nothing has been done about it . In sum, Intel Core vPro processors contain a secret 3G chip that allows remote disabling and backdoor access to any computer even when it is turned off .

From the article:
"Intel actually embedded the 3G radio chip in order to enable its Anti Theft 3.0 technology. And since that technology is found on every Core i3/i5/i7 CPU after Sandy Bridge, that means a lot of CPUs, not just new vPro, might have a secret 3G connection nobody knew about until now,"reports Softpedia ... Core vPro processors contain a second physical processor embedded within the main processor which has it's own operating system embedded on the chip itself," writes Jim Stone. "As long as the power supply is available and and in working condition, it can be woken up by the Core vPro processor, which runs on the system's phantom power and is able to quietly turn individual hardware components on and access anything on them."
Curious? Outraged? Here are some more links so you can catch up on your new, pw0ned lifestyle.

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/enterprise-security/what-is-vpro-technology-video.html
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Secret-3G-Radio-in-Every-Intel-vPro-CPU-Could-Steal-Your-Ideas-at-Any-Time-385194.shtml
http://www.popularresistance.org/new-intel-based-pcs-permanently-hackable/
http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-opinion/39455-big-brother-potentially-exists-right-now-in-our-pcs-compliments-of-intels-vpr
http://infowars.com/
http://prisonplanet.com/

Happy websurfing, suckers. Remember, Intel knows if you're posting anonymously ;)
Reply 12 comments

Don't buy US tech (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-20 09:47 (#1S7)

Seriously, we already banned US network gear here, but it seems like you need to fully avoid anything US tech related to be sure they don't spy on you. No wonder the US hates Huawei so much.

Re: Don't buy US tech (Score: 2, Insightful)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-05-20 10:04 (#1S8)

I get the impression everyone is loudly complaining that the "other guy" is doing the same thing the complainer is. Yeah, it's easy to point the finger at Huawei, but the US is apparently doing it too. There's only one guaranteed loser here: the consumer.

Pitchforks and torches, now!

Re: Don't buy US tech (Score: 1, Insightful)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-20 10:27 (#1S9)

"Pitchforks and torches, now!"

Spread cheeks/coughing and partyvans, now!

Because It's BS (Score: 4, Informative)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-20 12:37 (#1SE)

The 3G support works only if the computer includes 3G hardware.

We've got enough real security concerns without conspiracy bull polluting discussions.

Discussed at http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1219245 and other places.

Infowar? Really Pipedot?

Re: Because It's BS (Score: 1)

by omoc@pipedot.org on 2014-05-20 18:12 (#1T4)

besides that, the article is dated September 2013. This stuff should not make the frontpage

Re: Because It's BS (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-21 10:27 (#1TC)

unless it's still relevant today, which it is.

I guess you never read old news articles or books from the past.

Re: Because It's BS (Score: 1)

by omoc@pipedot.org on 2014-05-21 13:35 (#1TF)

You can run old news with an update, but there hasn't even been any change to this. I don't know any news site that just republishes old articles without any change to them. Then the citation of infowars as the source makes the article loose all it's credibility for anyone who didn't know about it before.

Re: Because It's BS (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-21 15:09 (#1TJ)

We get it. You're a conspiracy freak. And we're politely asking that you keep your insanity off of this tech news site.

Thank you. Now go away.

Re: Because It's BS (Score: 1)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-05-21 21:02 (#1TP)

Hey, all: the pipe is currently empty. If you have good ideas of what should go up on this tech news site, please post. Because it's a hell of a lot of work for just one person. This is an all volunteer site, so we don't exactly have paid journalists out walking the beat. When that pipe is choked with interesting articles, we'll be happy to cherry pick and make sure only the great ones make it to the front page. Right now the pipe is empty: do the math.

Re: Because It's BS (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-21 23:09 (#1TV)

2 trolls. We get it.

Wait (Score: 1)

by epitaxial@pipedot.org on 2014-05-20 17:09 (#1SY)

So what good can this embedded 3G chip do when the rest of the computer is shut down? Can it even get a signal inside a typical PC case?

Thank you for this story, very helpful in my next purchase. (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-22 01:55 (#1V0)

nt