Runtime Integrity and Presence Verification for Software Agents

Overview

Intel's firmware-based System Integrity Services offers a reliable method for run-time detection of attacks and intrusions that try to tamper with, disable, or circumvent protected software agents. By taking advantage of the capabilities of the system management mode in IA-32 processors, SIS becomes truly independent of the host operating system, and can reliably detect when an attack modifies or halts a protected program. The SIS architecture is not only practical in detecting many threats currently unaddressed in existing systems, but it consumes a relatively small amount of resources and time.