ystem from booting from any device, including from a hard drive, secondary drive, USB drive, CD, DVD, or other peripheral device. Even if a hard drive is reformatted or replaced, the system remains disabled. Unable to boot, the laptop is essentially a ‘brick’ and of little use or resale value to a thief.
Intel AT can also delete or disable (block) essential cryptographic information required for encryption/decryption. Even if a thief gains access to encryption credentials, the keys or other essential cryptographic information stored in the system have been erased or disabled and cannot be used to decrypt the data. Only after IT restores the keys and reactivates the system can the data be decrypted again.
With Intel AT, assets and data can remain protected, giving companies more time to resolve an incident before an actual data breach occurs and notification requirements take effect.
Reactivation is fast and easy
Intel AT does not destroy user data. The boot process is only disabled, and data is not erased. (Key elements of encryption keys can be disabled or erased.) When a laptop is recovered, the IT administrator or an authorised user can rapidly restore the system using one of several methods. These include entering a local passphrase, entering a one-time recovery token generated by IT (or the user’s service provider), reactivation via a PBA module, or remote reactivation via an encrypted SMS message over a 3G network (requires a laptop with a 3G modem that supports Intel AT).
New in Intel® Anti-TheftTechnology (Intel® AT): Protection for decrypted data after resume from S3 sleep state
One of the traditional vulnerabilities of encryption on laptops occurs when a laptop resumes from standby (S3) sleep state. Files that were decrypted before the system entered sleep state remain decrypted when the system wakes. The decrypted data can be easily accessed by thieves, and even by unauthorised users who simply lift the lid of the laptop to steal the data. Access is allowed because, upon resume from S3, a traditional laptop bypasses the pre-OS authentication screen for the encryption application.
Intel® Anti-Theft Technology (Intel® AT) closes that window of vulnerability and enforces pre-OS encryption by requiring that the user re-authenticate when the system resumes from S3. The user must enter his or her credentials within a predefined period of time before regaining access to the decrypted files. This feature is available on laptops with 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processors with vPro™ technology.
New in Intel® AT: Use a 3Gnetwork for PC lock down, reactivation, and location beaconing
With Intel® Anti-Theft Technology (Intel® AT), IT administrators can now use encrypted SMS messages over a 3G network to send a poison pill, remotely unlock a recovered laptop, or tell the system to send location information back to the central server.
- Poison pill delivery via an encrypted SMS message over a 3Gnetwork. Intel AT includes a direct hardware link between Intel AT and the 3G module. IT administrators can now take advantage of 3G connections to remotely and rapidly disable a laptop regardless of the state of the OS.
- Remote reactivation via an encrypted SMS message over a 3Gnetwork. IT administrators can now rapidly and easily reactivate a laptop within minutes after the system is recovered.
- Automated or on-request location beaconing. Intel AT version 3.0 can send location information back to the central server via an SMS message over a 3G network (the 3G card must support GPS and Intel AT 3.0). Location information can be sent as latitude and longitude or as a relay of a MAC address. IT administrators can now request the system’s location information to help with asset recovery. Beaconing can also be automated so that, after the laptop enters stolen mode, location information is sent back to the central server on a pre-determined schedule. Beaconing can be enabled only when the laptop is in stolen state, which protects the user’s privacy while the system is in normal mode but allows tracking if the system is stolen. Some ISV