Intel Management Engine ("ME") is a dedicated microcontroller embedded in all recent Intel motherboard chipsets. It works independently from the main CPU, can be active even when the rest of the system is powered off, and has a dedicated connection to the network interface for out-of-band networking which bypasses the main CPU and the installed OS. It not only performs the management tasks for which it was originally designed, but also implements features such as Intel Identity Protection Technology (IPT), Protected Audio-Video Path, Intel Anti-Theft, Intel TPM, NFC communication and more. There is not much info available about how exactly it works, and this talk aims to fill the gap and describe the low-level details.



Igor Skochinsky



Igor Skochinsky is currently one of the main developers of the world-famous Interactive Disassembler and Hex-Rays Decompiler. Even before joining Hex-Rays in 2008 he had been interested in reverse engineering for a long time and had brief periods of Internet fame after releasing a dumper for DRM-ed iTunes files (QTFairUse6) and hacking the original Amazon Kindle. He spoke previously at Recon, Breakpoint and Hack.LU.