this post was submitted on 19 May 2026
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Technology

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Europe built sovereign clouds to escape US control. Then forgot about the processors (www.theregister.com)
submitted 3 months ago by Kissaki@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org
14 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Intel ME and AMD PSP: The silicon layer nobody certifies

About cloud sovereignty and the often-ignored and unknown on-CPU management engine running below the OS and BIOS.

The article is quite long; it explains how CPUs run firmware that can include remote management over the network, and can be running even when the OS is not. They can be vulnerable to supply chain attacks and firmware replacements. Because it's on hardware, the firmware with open security vulnerabilities is often not updated.

Regarding cloud, the French SecNumCloud is a framework for cloud infrastructure security requirements. It doesn't cover these hardware attack vectors specifically but may mitigate risks through surrounding practices and isolation.

In conclusion, even a cloud provider that meets SecNumCloud must be asked whether and how they manage CPU management engine attack vectors.

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[–] Feyter@programming.dev 8 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Why the heck do we have such a technology in CPUs?

[–] technohacker@programming.dev 11 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

One usual use case is for IPMI-style server management, being able to remotely monitor and interact with the machine before even the BIOS is ready, so particularly more relevant to server deployments. For example, adjusting BIOS settings over a dedicated management LAN for several thousand rack servers

[–] Feyter@programming.dev 1 points 3 months ago

ok so it's the classic compfort vs. security... kind of.

[–] Quexotic@beehaw.org 3 points 3 months ago

So, Ignoring security for a moment, it makes remote resolution of severe machine issues much easier. It is great for IT, it even allows remote OS reinstall.

Now, considering security issues and the lack of parity between AIs ability to attack and defend (better at breaking than fixing) it is sure to become a huge vulnerability, IMO.

[–] vrek@programming.dev 5 points 3 months ago

https://www.cs.umass.edu/~emery/classes/cmpsci691st/readings/Sec/Reflections-on-Trusting-Trust.pdf

The lower you go the harder it is to be able to identify security risks

[–] PrivateNoob@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Good luck in trying to make a non-AMD or non-Intel x86 CPU. Maybe the chinese will find success in 10 years.

[–] greyscale@lemmy.grey.ooo 14 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I dunno man, ARM and RISC-V are pretty dope.

It'd be nice if, say, ST would shit out a EU market RISC-V linux SoC akin to the CV1800B or SG2002 or BL808. But like, europe fabs.

[–] realitista@lemmus.org 5 points 3 months ago

Would need a ton of investment but at least ASML is also a European company.

[–] Wahots@pawb.social 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Does Europe have fabs? Or are they purely reliant on Asia and the US fabs?

[–] Kissaki@beehaw.org 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)
[–] HappyFrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Are there even any European companies that explore the usage of risc-v?

[–] greyscale@lemmy.grey.ooo 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] HappyFrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Damn, that's interesting, just wished they tried harder.

[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 2 points 3 months ago

We can't all be Avis. (Orville references welcome.)