Sandy-bridge Kill Switch controversy

[Reynod]

http://www.tgdaily.com/opinion-features/53108-analysis-intel-to-introduce-processor-with-remote-kill-switch

Found this little interesting article.

If true, imagine if someone other than Intel got control of this sort of power ... well you can trust Intel though ... can't you?

After a couple of years of market penetration ...

Frightening ... terrorists will be scratching their beards over this one ... and possibly chuckling (rising to a maniacal cackle).

Alternatively ... it could all be drivel.

Comments?

 

[jj463rd]

Kind of reminds me of the previous Pentium III PSN controversy over 10 years and more back in time
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_III#Controversy_about_privacy_issues

If true well I guess many of us will be looking forward to Bulldozer instead.

 

[lostandwandering]

I wonder if the author of that article knows that there is already a version of that in place on the HM55 chipset, they just call it Intel Anti-Theft: http://www.intel.com/technology/anti-theft/index.htm and http://www.intel.com/products/notebook/chipsets/hm55/hm55-overview.htm Guess that one just snuck by everyone....

Same basic thing. Laptop gets stolen from business, business IT kills the system till it's returned, no data stolen.
edit: would just like to add that the "kill" feature that is currently in place is not permanent. Users can set up a password to bypass the "kill" in just such a case as an accidental system kill.

Return laptop to full functionality via:
• Local passphrase that was pre-provisioned by user.
• Recovery token (one-time use) provided by IT.

From the white paper: http://www.intel.com/technology/anti-theft/anti-theft-tech-brief.pdf

Honestly, the author of the TG Daily article sounds like he is anti-big brother and maybe a little on the paranoid side.

 

[Reynod]

I'll buy whatever is cheap and overclocks well.

 

[hell_storm2004]

There must be some way that the technology mentioned will be implemented wisely.

 

[jj463rd]

Or if not and hackers with malice remotely kill these CPU's it could be pretty bad.

 

[CsG_kieran_2]

i don't think some one can steel my workstation so am all good lol

BIOS should "stop" this... I hope

 

[hell_storm2004]

Or if not and hackers with malice remotely kill these CPU's it could be pretty bad.

I am sure Intel would have that in mind and make proper arrangements for it to be handled with care. If not they are the biggest fools in the world not to think about it!

 

[jf-amd]

I am not sure this is real.

The biggest issue that I see is the accident factor. Remember when Amazon shot out an update that accidentally disabled ebooks? (Orwell's "1984" of all things) If a processor is disabled accidentally there is a real problem with getting it back.

There are better ways to disable the system (via SW, etc.) and encryption to protect the data. This just seems too extreme. Wouldn't be surprised if they got the info wrong.

 

[CsG_kieran_2]

Coming from an "AMD" Guy...

Intel are not stupid (they got more market share than you? no offence) so am sure they have this worked out
Maybe its not a "kill". Maybe it just disables all cores at your command, then you can rein able them so the system will be able to boot up again? hell i have no idea but i would love to see some leaked info

 

[hunter315]

A CPU lock out isnt too helpful in keeping stolen data safe, i can just pull the drive and move it to a new machine, so i imagine it has to work in conjunction with a few other pieces of hardware. It might be useful on laptop chips in conjunction with hard drive encryption, but desktops you generally wont need to worry about killing in case of theft, its pretty difficult to sneak a workstation out under your jacket.

Interesting thing to consider for those who this scares, most smart phones have a kill code, that some software can send them that causes them to wipe themselves, at least a CPU lock out doesnt nuke your data.

 

[Reynod]

JF's point was he didn't think it was real.

I have my doubts too.

Still ... an interesting topic to follow up on as it unfolds.

 

[jf-amd]

Coming from an "AMD" Guy...

Intel are not stupid (they got more market share than you? no offence) so am sure they have this worked out
Maybe its not a "kill". Maybe it just disables all cores at your command, then you can rein able them so the system will be able to boot up again? hell i have no idea but i would love to see some leaked info

Who said they were stupid? I sure didn't.

 

[wolfram23]

I'll buy whatever is cheap and overclocks well.

Guess you'll be waiting for Ivy Bridge then, or maybe getting an AMD lol... Well, ok, they will have "K" series unlocked cores but otherwise Sandy Bridge will be far less OC friendly than the current generation.

 

[CsG_kieran_2]

Who said they were stupid? I sure didn't.

I was saying that to everyone who thinks that... and that's sure a lot of people apparently.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I'll buy whatever is cheap and overclocks well.

Same. Although the i7 2600K is looking quite nice even at $350.

But this is not that bad. In fact its a nice idea. But my question is whats to stop the theif from taking the laptop apart, pulling out the HDD and hooking it up to another system to access the files? I do it all the time for customers whos PCs died and want to transfer files to a new PC.

I guess thats where encryption comes in but that can get nasty for the end user.

Maybe the CPU also kills the HDD. If so they better keep backups.

 

[jonpaul37]

If the CPU also killed the HDD's/SSD's then this would only hold true with Intel HDD's/SSD'd cuz otherwise, they would need to have WD, samsung, etc implement this kill switch technology....

 

[jimmysmitty]

If the CPU also killed the HDD's/SSD's then this would only hold true with Intel HDD's/SSD'd cuz otherwise, they would need to have WD, samsung, etc implement this kill switch technology....

Unless it specifically tells the chipset on the mobo (it will be an Intel chipset) to send an over voltage to the rest of the system which would fry the PCB board on the HDD where the cache and the connector goes. Once thats gone, there are only two ways to get data off of a HDD. 1. bouy the exact same HDD and swap the PCB board or pay $1500+ to have a company that specializes in recovering the data off the HDD platters in a clean room.

I doubt anyone will go that far. As For SSDs, I wouldn't know if they could do the same to recover data becausea a voltage overload would probably fry the NAND memory too.

 

[CsG_kieran_2]

^voltage on NAND is like a mobo so you can say bye bye

 

[wolfram23]

I think you're starting to get a little carried away now

"this computer will self destruct in 5..."

 

[jj463rd]

I think you're starting to get a little carried away now

"this computer will self destruct in 5..."

That reminds me of the old television series Mission Impossible where the tape (reel to reel magnetic tape) self destructed after playing the message in 5 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA2KmJMKFrQ

 

[Reynod]

I am waiting to see what AMD will do harnessing the power of their new ondie GPU for HPC ... bolted to a decent Opti of course.

Now that's a market niche worth exploring.

That and putting an AES encrypt / decrypt engine on that sucker.

 

[jf-amd]

I have written several blogs and forum comments about this over the year. The folks that want really high performance from a GPU for HPC are actually not looking for fusion-style GPUs, they want the massive 6900-style GPUs. So you won't see integrated GPUs in Opteron for a while, there are a few things that have to happen from a technology standpoint first.

 

[demonnn]

This sounds too scary! Lets hope it's only on laptops. Can you imagine what hackers might do?

 

[Reynod]

I have written several blogs and forum comments about this over the year. The folks that want really high performance from a GPU for HPC are actually not looking for fusion-style GPUs, they want the massive 6900-style GPUs. So you won't see integrated GPUs in Opteron for a while, there are a few things that have to happen from a technology standpoint first.

Yes ... another process shrink is the answer JF, but I think your team has the technology side of things pretty well worked out.

JF thanks for the reply and Merry christmas - I hope you get some home time with the wife and kids.