Journalists in the edition The Wall Street Journal Learned about the existence of a secret Intel laboratory located in Costa Rica. In this enterprise, the company stores thousands of pieces of old computer equipment so that computer security professionals can access the hardware and software platform needed at any time to investigate new damage.
Image Source: Intel
A few years ago, Intel executives realized that the company had a serious problem. It releases dozens of new hardware and software products every year, but did not have the convenient methods and tools to list the old technologies that its engineers needed to troubleshoot security issues. For example, Sandybridge processors from 2011 to 2013 are very rare these days, and Intel security researchers had to search the internet for them. “We literally had to go to eBay and look for these chips.”Says Mohsen Fazlian, Intel’s head of product security.
As a result, the company decided to build its own warehouse and old product laboratory in Costa Rica, where Intel already had a research laboratory. Planning for the long-term retention lab began in mid-2018 and is already underway in the second half of 2019. Access to the building is strictly restricted. Only the senior management team is allowed to enter. Surveillance cameras have been installed everywhere. Even the location of the building is categorized. Intel spokesman for the media WSJ He declined to say where it was.
In the warehouse of the enterprise with an area of 1300 m22 It contains about 3000 units of various hardware and software platforms launched by the company over the last 10 years. In the future, Intel plans to expand its range to 2,500 square meters2, Increasing the stock of computer equipment to 6,000 units.
Intel product security engineers can contact the long-term retention lab and request a special configuration build for vulnerability testing. After assembling the required platform, the laboratory technicians provide private access to it through the cloud service.
The lab, which is normally staffed by 25 engineers every day, operates without breaks or weekends, so Intel specialists can access it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from anywhere in the world. According to Marcel Cortez, one of the lab’s engineers, the facility receives 1,000 assembly requests each month for security inspections, and about 50 new systems are added each week.
The venture quickly became an integral part of Intel’s operations, said Andrews Fogg, Intel’s senior engineer in Germany. In particular, he deals with vulnerabilities found by third-party digital security teams.
“I may request that you make an exact copy of the vulnerable system. Same processor, operating system version, BIOS microcode. All of this increases the likelihood of problem recurrence and is often the best starting point for problem solving., – Comments Fog.
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