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As a potential backdoor with access to a computer with compromising the OS, how much is ME neutralized by just not using the integrated NIC and instead using a PCI-E or USB NIC?

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The ME firmware includes a Java VM so that other companies can run their secret apps inside the ME's environment (e.g. DRM crypto plugins). That is just one example of all the features included in the ME firmware, and none of it is published or well documented, much less audited at the source level by an independent third party.

The ME is very alarming, and seems to only become more alarming the closer you look at what it is designed to do.

And any code running there can read and write your RAM as it pleases because "ME is secure and obviously nothing bad can ever happen there so there's no reason to protect other things from the ME".

How do you think it accesses the network? In fact, I don't think every version has network support in the first place.

It is designed for remote management of a computer. Take your best shot, do you think it has network support? Also, it doesn't need for the computer to be powered on. One of the advertised features is remote HDD wipe, in case your laptop is stolen.

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