A vulnerability in Intel chips that went undiscovered for almost a decade allows hackers to remotely gain full control over affected Windows PCs without needing a password.
The “critical”-rated bug, disclosed by Intel last week, lies in a feature of Intel’s Active Management Technology (more commonly known as just AMT), which allows IT administrators to remotely carry out maintenance and other tasks on entire fleets of computers as if they were there in person, like software updates and wiping hard drives. AMT also allows the administrator to remotely control the computer’s keyboard and mouse, even if the PC is powered off.
To make life easier, AMT was also made available through the web browser — accessible even when the remote PC is asleep — that’s protected by a password set by the admin.
The problem is that a hacker can enter a blank password and still get into the web console, according to independent technical rundowns of the flaw by two security research labs.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-chip-vulnerability-lets-hackers-easily-remotely-hijack-affected-windows-pcs/
