Manufacturers to disable it, and extended its control Over time, Intel imposed the Management Engine on all IntelĬomputers, removed the ability for computer users and Retrieve and store various serial numbers that identify It could, for instance, be used to remotely:īoot computers from remote storage located on the systemĪdministrator's machine or on a server, and take control The Management Engine started to appear in Intel computersĪt first, it was designed to help system administrators and otherĮmployees to remotely manage computers 3, and wasĪdvertised as a computer feature for business customers. It is a very seriousĪttack on the freedom, privacy, and security of computer users. Software that cannot be modified or replaced by anyone but

Separate computer within Intel computers, which denies users The Management Engine 1 (frequently abbreviated as ME) is a He has also worked on a number of free BIOS/UEFI including coreboot and serialICE. But in reality, it is another restriction on user freedoms, imposed by a company, and used to control your computing.Ĭarikli offers a moderately technical explanation of what's happening with Management Engine, the ways in which it restricts rather than empowers users, and how it violates the four freedoms of free software.Ĭarikli may be best known for his work on the Replicant project, which he co-founded with Aaron Williamson, Bradley Kuhn, and Graziano Sorbaioli. The Intel Management Engine is a tool that ships with Intel chipsets, purportedly to ease the job of system administrators. Thanks to Denis GNUtoo Carikli, we have a new basis for that conversation in this article. Serious as though these bugs may be, we cannot let them distract us from the broader issues: Intel considers the Intel Management Engine a feature, while it's nothing more than a threat to user freedom. With security issues like the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities discovered in Intel chips in early 2018, it became more important than ever to talk about the necessity of software freedom in these deeply embedded technologies.

Management engine