- Jul 22, 2014
- 2,525
One of the world's lesser-known operating systems may actually be the most used OS in the world, according to new revelations made by Google's Linux experts.
The culprit is MINIX 3, an open-source and highly modular UNIX-like operating system that was designed to work on microkernel architectures.
The OS was launched in 1987 as an educational project by Dutch professor Andrew S. Tanenbaum, who wanted to show students that they don't need to write millions of lines of code to create a basic, functional operating system.
Intel ME runs on MINIX, Google finds
According to Ron Minnich, a Software Engineer at Google, MINIX is at the heart of Intel's Management Engine (ME), a secret processor embedded in all Intel CPUs sold in the last decade.
Despite many people calling ME a backdoor into everyone's computers, Intel has always advertised ME as a way for companies to manage workstations on internal networks by allowing system administrators to monitor, maintain, update, upgrade, and repair Intel-based computers from a remote, central location.
This is because the ME component runs independently from the user's main OS, with separate processes, threads, memory manager, hardware bus driver, file system, and many other components.
MINIX creator reveals Intel's past interest in the OS
Google says MINIX power all these features, a statement the MINIX OS creator has backed up yesterday in a blog postaddressed to Brian Krzanich, Intel's CEO.
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Google cited worries that the Intel ME (actually MINIX) code runs on their CPU's deepest access level — Ring "-3" — and also runs a web server component that allows anyone to remotely connect to remote computers, even when the main OS is turned off.
For a company that holds information on almost all Internet users, Intel ME is a gaping security hole its engineers are now actively trying to nuke off their systems.
Researchers found a way to disable Intel ME over the summer
...
The culprit is MINIX 3, an open-source and highly modular UNIX-like operating system that was designed to work on microkernel architectures.
The OS was launched in 1987 as an educational project by Dutch professor Andrew S. Tanenbaum, who wanted to show students that they don't need to write millions of lines of code to create a basic, functional operating system.
Intel ME runs on MINIX, Google finds
According to Ron Minnich, a Software Engineer at Google, MINIX is at the heart of Intel's Management Engine (ME), a secret processor embedded in all Intel CPUs sold in the last decade.
Despite many people calling ME a backdoor into everyone's computers, Intel has always advertised ME as a way for companies to manage workstations on internal networks by allowing system administrators to monitor, maintain, update, upgrade, and repair Intel-based computers from a remote, central location.
This is because the ME component runs independently from the user's main OS, with separate processes, threads, memory manager, hardware bus driver, file system, and many other components.
MINIX creator reveals Intel's past interest in the OS
Google says MINIX power all these features, a statement the MINIX OS creator has backed up yesterday in a blog postaddressed to Brian Krzanich, Intel's CEO.
...
Google cited worries that the Intel ME (actually MINIX) code runs on their CPU's deepest access level — Ring "-3" — and also runs a web server component that allows anyone to remotely connect to remote computers, even when the main OS is turned off.
For a company that holds information on almost all Internet users, Intel ME is a gaping security hole its engineers are now actively trying to nuke off their systems.
Researchers found a way to disable Intel ME over the summer
...
