As intrusive as this sounds, there are a couple of things to consider.
1.) This is more than likely using ipv4 still for traffic, most consumer routers are not using IPv6, hell most corporations are not using IPv6.
2.) The only two routing protocols most home routers understand are IPv4 or IPv6, so if there was some custom protocol it would go no where. There are a lot of network protocols, the vast majority can not be routed i.e. traverse the internet.
3.) Any good network engineer or linux guy worth his salt can and would filter weird, unrecognized outbound traffic.
4.) The addresses used for spying and control would have to be hardcoded into the chip, making it easy to filter, very doubtful it initiates any kind of tunnel, which again can be filtered.
5.) This requires using an Intel motherboard one would assume as a seprate cpu is mentioned, not a core. Lots of computers, servers, and other devices do not use intel anything.
All in all, an attack vector of this type comes across as targeting something in particular. This isn't for regular consumers, seems more like it would be against governments, utilities, and organizations of that type. Most consumers aren't that important for this kind of attack, unless everyone had an intel laptop/desktop. I see this as something to be aware of, but can be dealt with. It would be interesting to know what this chip went into, cars for example.
well sadly, when it comes to computers/networking, most people have the "as long as it works" mentality, and wouldn't care, much less know what to do, if netflix works, they are good. In general, with all the garbage that is going on that we know about here, the magnitudes of people that are completely ignorant, willing and unwillingly is huge, and that plays right in to it -- bread and circuses.
A compromised computer may not see the network traffic but you couldn't hide it from your switch and router. Unless it used cellular or something wireless. Or they sneak packets through popular websites like Google but the website would have to be in on it.
As intrusive as this sounds, there are a couple of things to consider.
1.) This is more than likely using ipv4 still for traffic, most consumer routers are not using IPv6, hell most corporations are not using IPv6.
2.) The only two routing protocols most home routers understand are IPv4 or IPv6, so if there was some custom protocol it would go no where. There are a lot of network protocols, the vast majority can not be routed i.e. traverse the internet.
3.) Any good network engineer or linux guy worth his salt can and would filter weird, unrecognized outbound traffic.
4.) The addresses used for spying and control would have to be hardcoded into the chip, making it easy to filter, very doubtful it initiates any kind of tunnel, which again can be filtered.
5.) This requires using an Intel motherboard one would assume as a seprate cpu is mentioned, not a core. Lots of computers, servers, and other devices do not use intel anything.
All in all, an attack vector of this type comes across as targeting something in particular. This isn't for regular consumers, seems more like it would be against governments, utilities, and organizations of that type. Most consumers aren't that important for this kind of attack, unless everyone had an intel laptop/desktop. I see this as something to be aware of, but can be dealt with. It would be interesting to know what this chip went into, cars for example.
Devil's advocate here, although I'm tracking what you're saying, would they not have thought of this, and put in ways to hide that traffic too?
well sadly, when it comes to computers/networking, most people have the "as long as it works" mentality, and wouldn't care, much less know what to do, if netflix works, they are good. In general, with all the garbage that is going on that we know about here, the magnitudes of people that are completely ignorant, willing and unwillingly is huge, and that plays right in to it -- bread and circuses.
A compromised computer may not see the network traffic but you couldn't hide it from your switch and router. Unless it used cellular or something wireless. Or they sneak packets through popular websites like Google but the website would have to be in on it.
It was a built in feature for IT and system administrators over a decade old already