[ExI] Revealed: how Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages

[Andrew Mckee]

On Sun, 14 Jul 2013 23:42:58 +1200, BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote:

> I think you are talking about Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT).

Nope, just a free variant of VNC back then, Intel presumably licensed it and gave it a makeover.

> This is a feature demanded by corporate networks to enable remote
> administration of networked computers by administrators.

Sure, not saying it doesn't have a good use in business IT, just saying it could also be embedded in every Intel Core powered PC out in the big wide world, and if they are connected to the internet what exactly is preventing unauthorized malicious backdoor snooping and/or modification of those PCs?
As far as I can tell, nothing but the restraint on the part of the western worlds spooks and Intel.

> <http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/vpro/vpro-technology-general.html>
> <http://www.intel.com/technology/vpro/privacy/>

> If you are using a corporate pc or laptop linked to their network, it
> is not *your* computer. You are temporarily using a company owned and
> maintained pc for business use. If you (mis)use company equipment for
> personal purposes, then you should expect consequences in some cases.
> Not all, it depends on the company policy.

In both cases it was a persons personal PC not connected to a business network or used in a corperate setting, just the owners regular internet connection, over which some unknown 'external' agency used to conduct likely unlawful and unwanted business.

> If it is your own pc, you should make sure that AMT features are
> switched off in the BIOS.

Yeeeh, kinda a small problem with that advice if Intel are indeed cooperating with spy agencies to enable backdoor access to PCs.
Since there would likely be no BIOS options for it would there?

But even if there was, it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference, since by being included on die the VNC /AMT software can operate at a level even below the PCs  bootstrap and BIOS flash memory.

> There are virus infections which also allow remote control of pcs, so
> Windows antivirus and antimalware software is recommended. Even better
> to use Linux Mint with hardware and software firewalls.

Sure, usually general good advice, but the threat I'm talking about operates essentially at the hardware level,  so OS, and whatever software you care to name have been rendered useless.

Hardware is an interesting question, the Chinese spy agency manged to get network backdoorable chips into the routers Huawai has been selling to the world, the US government leaned on and received complete co-operation by some of the US's biggest  Internet, software and telecoms corporations to spy on internet users everywhere, are you really so confidant that they left networking infrastructure companies off that list.