Because the device fell into a relatively shallow area, which has an estimated depth of 47 feet, the recovery mission is expected to be "fairly easy," one official stated. However, officials said there was no estimate for the length of the mission.
Intel Device Spy
"I would also note that while we took all necessary steps to protect against the [Chinese] surveillance balloon's collection of sensitive information, the surveillance balloon's overflight of U.S. territory was of intelligence value to us," an official said. "I can't go into more detail, but we were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable."
Your device is not enrolled. So your device is sending absolutely no data to Intel currently. What information would be sent if you were enrolled would be enough information to locate the device. Apple and Android devices have similar features.
If your device was enrolled, then it would be sent to Intel, Microsoft has absolutely nothing to do with this program. It sounds like you want this program not to run on your system. You should uninstall it in that case.
Intel vPro Enterprise for Windows OS enables out-of-band remote management via the cloud. IT administrators can see and manage Intel vPro-based devices, regardless of their location, as long as devices are connected to a known Wi-Fi network or hotspot. This helps increase security, reduce maintenance costs, and provide easy access for troubleshooting systems.
Remote monitoring and management (RMM) is also known as remote IT management. These technologies are designed to help IT administrators and managed service providers (MSPs) remotely monitor PCs and other devices. Remote monitoring includes proactive maintenance to improve overall IT reliability and productivity. With nearly two-thirds (67%) of employees working either fully or partially remotely3, having a remote management strategy is key for organizations of all sizes.
One challenge with software-only RMM strategies is that software can be managed only when the device is powered on. When the operating system (OS) cannot respond, the types of problems that can be fixed remotely are significantly reduced.
Intel vPro EnterpriseIntel vPro Enterprise for Windows OS is a business-class platform for PCs and PC-based devices. It includes integrated, hardware-based features and technologies for performance, manageability, security, and stability. The platform is optimized for managed IT environments, but it can deliver value to businesses of any size.
As one of its key components, Intel vPro Enterprise offers powerful capabilities for remote monitoring and remote management. These features help reduce device management costs and minimize user distractions, IT support calls, and work interruptions.
Available exclusively on Intel vPro Enterprise for Windows OS, Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT) allows IT administrators to remotely manage and repair PCs even when the device is powered off or the OS is unresponsive. It uses an out-of-band connection that operates independently of the OS and provides persistent connectivity. Administrators can repair corrupted drivers, application software, or the OS for a nonresponsive system.
With remote keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) over IP control, IT administrators can navigate the PC as if they were sitting in front of it. This is especially useful for devices where no user is present.
Intel Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel EMA) gives IT administrators secure, cloud-based device management via Intel AMT. With Intel EMA, devices can be more securely managed via the cloud even when outside the corporate firewall.
With new PCs powered by Intel vPro Enterprise for Windows OS, you can save on deskside support, cut PC maintenance, improve user experiences, and reduce downtime with remote manageability of devices, whether on-premises or in the cloud. To get started, look for business laptops and business desktop devices built on Intel vPro or ask your MSP for device options.
As part of Intel vPro Enterprise for Windows OS, Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT) offers a suite of remote monitoring and management (RMM) and mobile device management (MDM) technologies. A Forrester Consulting study found that more improved device security and management with Intel vPro Enterprise for Windows OS can result in cost savings of USD 1.3 million over three years, while automatic remote patch deployment through Intel AMT can result in risk-adjusted cost savings of USD 81,000 over three years.4
Cloning user-authorized device identities to arbitrary attacker devices Thunderspy enables creating arbitrary Thunderbolt device identities and cloning user-authorized Thunderbolt devices, even in the presence of Security Levels pre-boot protection and cryptographic device authentication.
Download and extract the Spycheck ZIP to a folder of your choice. For example, on your Windows desktop, create a new folder named "Spycheck".
In the "Spycheck" folder, double-click on the Spycheck icon. At this point, Windows SmartScreen may warn you the program has not been signed and is therefore untrusted. Please confirm you wish to run it.
After selecting a language and accepting the open-source GPLv3 license, you will be asked to confirm your system has Thunderbolt ports.
At this point, Spycheck will try to detect your system's Thunderbolt controller.On some systems, the controller might enter a power saving mode when no Thunderbolt devices are connected. If this is the case with your laptop, please connect a Thunderbolt device to power up the controller. Alternatively, if you don't have any Thunderbolt devices to connect, Spycheck bundles a custom power management driver to enable power to the controller. If you choose to install this driver, please note you may be warned again by Windows SmartScreen. After installing the driver, you may be asked to restart Windows, after which you should run Spycheck again.
Finally, Spycheck will show you an analysis summary. A more detailed report is available by clicking on the "Report" button in the summary screen. If you wish, you can then export the report to JSON, or copy the report text to another program of your choice.
Kernel DMA Protection is Intel's implementation of DMA remapping for Thunderbolt devices. When enabled on supported systems, this protection scheme aims to restrict all Thunderbolt devices to IOMMU-controlled memory ranges. Kernel DMA Protection mitigates some, but not all of the Thunderspy vulnerabilities. While it prevents any further impact on victim system security via DMA, the remaining Thunderspy vulnerabilities expose the system to attacks similar to BadUSB.
In our study, we have found Thunderbolt controllers lack handling hardware error conditions when interacting with flash devices. Specifically, we have determined enabling flash write protection (i) prevents changing the Security Level configuration in UEFI, without being reflected in the latter, and (ii) prevents controller firmware from being updated, without such failures being reflected in Thunderbolt firmware update applications. As such, when combined with the fifth issue, this vulnerability allows to covertly, and permanently, disable Thunderbolt security and block all future firmware updates.
In the context of evil maid and supply chain attacks, devices may physically appear to implement USB-C - for example, by its connector not carrying any lightning symbols - while internally hardware may have been tampered with to incorporate a malicious Thunderbolt device instead. This may apply particularly to seemingly innocuous peripherals such as USB-C to DisplayPort/HDMI dongles. To help protect your system against such attacks, consider connecting these devices exclusively using one of the following:
In response, Intel introduced "Security Levels" with Thunderbolt 2, a security architecture designed to protect against all former attacks by enabling users to authorize trusted Thunderbolt devices only. To further strengthen device authentication, the system is said to provide "cryptographic authentication of connections" to prevent devices from spoofing user-authorized devices.
More recent attacks like Thunderclap (Markettos, Rothwell, Gutstein, Pearce, Neumann, Moore, Watson) work within the "Security Levels" ecosystem to attack the IOMMU and do not break Thunderbolt access control. They instead rely on tricking the user into accepting a malicious device as a trusted one. Once enabled, such a device can do a DMA attack similar to without Security Levels.
Our research goes beyond where the current state of the art has ended, by breaking Thunderbolt hardware and protocol security. This is the first attack on Intel's Security Levels. In addition, Intel's response to Thunderclap stated "Existing security options for the Thunderbolt interface also allow you to whitelist trusted Thunderbolt devices to help protect your systems from malicious peripherals" as a remedy to Thunderclap. Our attack, Thunderspy, completely breaks these security options.
Two-and-a-half years of research, design and development, culminated on September 19, 2019, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Intelligence Community Campus in Bethesda, Maryland, signaling the completion of the Wall of Spies Experience installation. Former National Counterintelligence and Security Center Center Director, William Evanina and NCSC Executive Director, Patty Larsen led the event and offered attendees a first look at the new exhibit.
Intel is a value between 0 and 100 that represents how much information an empire has about another empire. Intel automatically increases or decreases towards the intel cap for the target empire. Some intelligence on systems, including fleets and colonies, can also be gained via sensors (fleets, starbases, or colonies). 2ff7e9595c
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