Intel to take felon-foiling tech to phones, slates
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IDF 2012 Intel has confirmed that it will bring its Anti-theft Technology (AT), currently being pitched at Ultrabooks, to Atom-based smartphones and tablets.
The timeframe for bringing AT to such devices is unclear, but it is definitely on the company's roadmap, said Mojy Mirashrafi, Intel's Director of Engineering, Security and Content, during an IDF presentation on AT.
AT utilises pre-Bios hardware to contact Intel-trusted third-party servers and determine whether the Ultrabook it is fitted to has been lost or stolen. Periodic checks when the machine boots or when it comes out of deep sleep verify it is the hands of its owner. Failure to pass this test can result in the machine being disabled or rendered useless.
A thief may not check for the presence of AT when he lifts the laptop - Intel has a bright sticker to warn him - but it should at the very least prevent the owner's data being raided.
Intel is mandating the tech at Ultrabooks, though it may be present on other, third-generation Core i-based notebooks too. AT is not mandatory to the user - handy since it involves paying companies like Intel subsidiary McAfee, Norton, Absolute Software and even Intel itself to host the service.
Phones and tablets are arguably easier to swipe than laptops, so extending AT to Atom system-on-a-chip-based devices is a clear next step for the technology. ®
COMMENTS
This troglodyte says NO!
So they propose making computers that won't even BOOT unless they're connected to the Internet? That won't even let you at the BIOS? Meaning you're shafted if you're in a no-signal area?
I don't think I want one of those.
Some clarification from the Intel site is available, after all this has been some Intel stuff since '08.
"
1. You can set your device to lock from the Intel® Anti-Theft Service website and it will lockdown the next time it synchronizes with the service. Your device automatically synchronizes with the service when it is connected to internet.
2. If your device does not synchronize with the service within the "user selected" number of days, the Intel® Anti-Theft Service will lock your device. The Timer Based Lock uses a hardware based timer that prevents an unauthorized person from defeating device lockdown.
"
It's a subscription service.
The security sites have been pointing out the security risks of vPro for a while now.
And what...
... is to stop someone maliciously reporting a machine as being stolen, or someone hacking the C&C server and triggering a mass wipe.
Too close to the knuckle for me.
If any tech has this on it, I'm not buying it.
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