AMD quietly removes TSME memory encryption from consumer Ryzen CPUs
By
Dan Goodin
Summary
AMD has quietly removed Transparent Secure Memory Encryption (TSME) from its consumer Ryzen CPUs, a security feature that protected against cold boot attacks and physical memory exploits. TSME encrypted all memory contents, making data useless to attackers with physical access. The feature was originally added to high-end CPUs a decade ago and later expanded to consumer chips, but AMD has now stripped it from non-Pro consumer versions without public announcement. This move has drawn criticism from security-conscious users who view it as a deliberate, covert decision that reduces security for consumer-grade processors.
Source
bskyAMD quietly removes TSME memory encryption from consumer Ryzen CPUsarstechnica.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledA decade ago, AMD added a protection to its high-end CPUs to protect them against cold boot attacks and other types of physical exploits that siphon sensitive data out of the connected memory chips.
Short for Transparent Secure Memory Encryption, TSME encrypts the entire contents stored in memory, making the data useless to physical attackers.
AMD's stripping of TSME from consumer CPUs appears to be a deliberate, covert move.
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