All Intel CPUs have a Management Engine, basically a smaller CPU within the CPU designed for controlling the rest of the chip. It’s particularly good for things like IT management or devices because it operates with direct control over the other parts of the chip. This device’s firmware is based on Minix.
it’s also particularly good for the nsa, reason why many people decide to block it (or at least minimize what it can do, since it can’t be blocked anymore)
Cool, thanks. I work at Intel for a third party, but I have no idea how they get the chip to actually work. I only get the manufacturing process. Thanks for the info
Not just a MINIX computer, a MINIX computer with its own dedicated CPU.
Apparently lacking an appropriate core to plug inside of another CPU, AMD’s equivalent (the PSP) runs on an ARM core embedded in the amd64 CPU.
Also, smartphone modems run their own operating systems, in many cases Linux. It’s possible to hack this operating system (from the computer’s side, at least, very hard to do over the network) and to infect the modem with malware, allowing it to alter network traffic in an undetectable way until a reboot.
That also mean Microsoft has put out several products that run Linux. Theoretically, Linux may have even been part of the iPhones that had Intel modems, though I’m not sure if that was ever confirmed.
Your Intel CPU comes with a *nix operating system built in
Care to elaborate?
All Intel CPUs have a Management Engine, basically a smaller CPU within the CPU designed for controlling the rest of the chip. It’s particularly good for things like IT management or devices because it operates with direct control over the other parts of the chip. This device’s firmware is based on Minix.
it’s also particularly good for the nsa, reason why many people decide to block it (or at least minimize what it can do, since it can’t be blocked anymore)
Cool, thanks. I work at Intel for a third party, but I have no idea how they get the chip to actually work. I only get the manufacturing process. Thanks for the info
Not just a MINIX computer, a MINIX computer with its own dedicated CPU.
Apparently lacking an appropriate core to plug inside of another CPU, AMD’s equivalent (the PSP) runs on an ARM core embedded in the amd64 CPU.
Also, smartphone modems run their own operating systems, in many cases Linux. It’s possible to hack this operating system (from the computer’s side, at least, very hard to do over the network) and to infect the modem with malware, allowing it to alter network traffic in an undetectable way until a reboot.
That also mean Microsoft has put out several products that run Linux. Theoretically, Linux may have even been part of the iPhones that had Intel modems, though I’m not sure if that was ever confirmed.