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Cartel
Intel inside Your sensitive data outside
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join:2006-09-13
Chilliwack, BC

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Cartel

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Tinfoil hat brigade say every PC is on mobile networks

“Core vPro processors work in conjunction with Intel’s new Anti Theft 3.0, which put 3g connectivity into every Intel CPU after the Sandy Bridge version of the I3/5/7 processors. Users do not get to know about that 3g connection, but it IS there,” he writes, “anti theft 3.0 always has that 3G connection on also, even if the computer is turned off” (emphasis added).

»www.theregister.co.uk/20 ··· akeon3g/


»investmentwatchblog.com/ ··· -access/
Cartel

Cartel

Premium Member

Watch the video....yikes

»www.intel.com/content/ww ··· deo.html

StuartMW
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join:2000-08-06

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StuartMW to Cartel

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quote:
Intel has apparently turned up one of the holiest of holy grails in the tech sector, accidentally creating an zero-power-consumption on-chip 3G communications platform as an NSA backdoor.
As an electrical engineer who has experience designing lower power consumption products I find this highly unlikely.

For one thing the semiconductor technology used in Intel's processors is incompatible with a radio transmitter. What their CPU's may have is an interface that can couple with a 3G radio chip or module but that's a different thing. A manufacturer would have to include that chip/module in their design and that costs $. Unless there's a good reason to do so any 3G interface will go unused.

One another level the power required to operate a modern Intel processor is in tens of Watts. That's why they need all that cooling etc.

In short I'm calling BS on this one.

PS: If Intel has succeeded making a "zero-power-consumption on-chip 3G communications platform" I'm pretty sure they be making squillions selling that technology to cell phone manufacturers.

sivran
Vive Vivaldi
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join:2003-09-15
Irving, TX

sivran

Premium Member

Party pooper.

3G aside, let just one exploit out in the wild that can attack this management interface, and suddenly every system equipped with it is wide open.
BlitzenZeus
Burnt Out Cynic
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join:2000-01-13

BlitzenZeus to StuartMW

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to StuartMW
You do realize they don't actually turn off right? These are all soft power devices. Even your computer hasn't had a hard power switch since the days of Win9x where you got the screen telling you it's safe to turn off your computer.

Link Logger
MVM
join:2001-03-29
Calgary, AB

1 recommendation

Link Logger

MVM

BlitzenZeus
Burnt Out Cynic
Premium Member
join:2000-01-13

1 recommendation

BlitzenZeus

Premium Member

Pulling the battery on some is all they can really do, and some devices don't even allow you to remove it without cracking the case open.
Expand your moderator at work
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

dave to StuartMW

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Re: Tinfoil hat brigade say every PC is on mobile networks

Plus, it seems to require that a vendor add a feature and then fail to tout its advantages in marketing literature.
dave

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dave to Cartel

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to Cartel
I found this 2010 mention in pcmag (admittedly not exactly a source of record)
quote:
From a security standpoint, the biggest addition Sandy Bridge will deliver will be the ability to remotely kill and restore a lost or stolen PC via 3G, Marek said. Previously, that capability, which delivers a "poison pill" that can remotely wipe the PC's hard drive, was only available via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Now, if that laptop has a 3G connection, the PC can be protected, Marek said.

»www.pcmag.com/article2/0 ··· 0,00.asp

Note the word 'if'.

justin
..needs sleep
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join:1999-05-28
2031
Billion BiPAC 7800N
Apple AirPort Extreme (2011)

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justin to Cartel

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said by intel vpro pdf :
SMS messaging over a 3G network to help reduce the window of
vulnerability to respond to PC loss or theft. Send a poison pill via an
encrypted SMS message over a 3G network to respond rapidly to a
lost or stolen laptop even if the PC is disconnected from the IP-based
network. This feature provides a direct hardware link between Intel AT
and the 3G module
it does not depend on the BIOS or OS. An authorized IT administrator can also reactivate the system remotely via an
SMS message to reduce user downtime when the system has been
recovered. (The PC must be equipped with an Intel AT-enabled 3G
module in order to take advantage of the Intel AT SMS/3G features.
)

Cthen
Premium Member
join:2004-08-01
Detroit, MI

Cthen to Cartel

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Aside from the security part I have ask, why 3g? It sucks at best compared to 4g.

And the tinfoil hat brigade says "every PC" has this? I didn't know AMD put this in their processors too.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

Far greater coverage.

if it depended on 4g all someone would have to do is take the laptop outside of a major city and it would lose the signal.

For a security system one wants it to have the widest available signal as a connection option. I figure 3G will be around until 2025 considering only just now is 2g being phased out.
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

dave

Premium Member

It's not like network performance is an issue either, if all that is needed is to deliver one SMS message.

rcdailey
Dragoonfly
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join:2005-03-29
Rialto, CA

rcdailey to BlitzenZeus

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Besides that, if the system is a server and is up all the time ....
Frodo
join:2006-05-05

Frodo to Cartel

Member

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Here's a link to Intel's description for a laptop. (PDF)
»www.intel.com/content/da ··· rief.pdf
quote:
• Notification via an encrypted SMS text message over a 3 g network. For this option, the laptop does not need to be connected to the Internet, but it must be within range of a 3G network. This feature works even if the OS is not running or has been re-installed, thanks to a hardware-to-hardware link between the 3G card and the Intel AT system.²

quote:
² This feature requires a laptop with Intel® Anti-Theft Technology (Intel®AT) 3.0, a 3G laptop modem that supports Intel AT 3.0 functionality (for example, the Ericsson F5521gw), and OEM-enabled communication between the 3G modem and laptop.
Doesn't sound like there is an embedded 3G modem already installed.

Cartel
Intel inside Your sensitive data outside
Premium Member
join:2006-09-13
Chilliwack, BC

Cartel

Premium Member

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· BUAm68eg
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

dave

Premium Member

Gotta love all the footnotes that say "yeah, we may have exaggerated a little bit in the video".