A lot is being talked about these days about a hidden system inside the Intel processors and the implications of this on the security of the affected systems.
Well, if you did not know, that's right, in every 6th, 7th and 8th generation Intel processor there is an extra level of abstraction and a full operating system working in the shadows, Intel usually calls it Intel Management Engine “ME” but inside It's all an SO with MINIX as a base, that's right, MINIX turned out to be the most used operating system without anyone knowing.
The "horror" of this is that the ME is hidden software that runs above any control that the user may have, on top of UEFI inclusive, the other dark operating system that all modern PCs have. Is this a risk? Yes, a huge one.
Intel and other manufacturers do not want to lose control or impose conditions on their customers, a few years ago this imposition led to the abandonment of the obsolete BIOS by a completely dark and closed startup and control system UEFI.
To such a point UEFI is obscure that none of the hardware manufacturers just understand it but they do spend it using their extensions, each programmed without much control and opening more and more security holes. Now, in addition to UEFI is the Intel ME that is behind all this to supposedly control aspects of low level of hardware and so, according to the firm, have greater granularity and control over energy consumption and devices.
Now, this ME has a complete operating system, the famous MINIX (because it is completely free and not even to its author, Tanenbaum in case they remember it, they warned him that they would use it for this) with IP stack and everything, that is to say, has network capability.
This is a massive risk for any computer because within a computer there is a system connected to the network without one being able to control it and, to top it all, It is infiltration in your hardware to the point that it can spy everything in the happens without being detected.
