4 ms·

I'm not sure you read the paper? The concern centered on all the flash/firmware compnents such as SPI flash and wifi/BT firmware, not just the OS or hard drive.

by spydum 11y ago

I'm not sure you read the paper? The concern centered on all the flash/firmware compnents such as SPI flash and wifi/BT firmware, not just the OS or hard drive. The idea proposed was to have SPI and all device firmware on a secure USB stick that you always keep with you..

loudmax 11y ago
You're right. I read the blog post, then skimmed the actual paper. You can already do what she proposes at the OS level, but her concerns go much deeper.
- rolandr 11y ago
  It seems like a pretty valid concern. Part of the next generation of rootkits seems to be targeted at SMM-level rootkits (termed "ring -1" by some) that are installed in the BIOS. They are practically undetectable once installed, and can punch through hypervisor protections too. I think that is also part of the author's concern with Intel ME being present on all systems. It is a separate microcontroller in the chipset that has power on the level of "ring -3" (I believe it is used to implement much of the new SGE instruction set, for example).