In a recent Ask my anything (AMA) on Reddit, the management of the CPU manufacturer AMD was asked to enable coreboot support for their upcoming CPU generation Ryzen. A quick reminder: coreboot is a project aiming at providing an open BIOS. Using coreboot enables you to get rid of (most of) the proprietary components present in almost all modern-day BIOS chips.
I actually wanted to write a post about why this would be a very good idea but the top commenter I linked to above actually summarizes the whole issue very well. I quote:
Dear AMD, could you please release the Platform Security Processor (PSP) source code to the Coreboot / Libreboot project? (or publicly) The current perception of AMD (and Intel) among FOSS groups like this is not exactly, stellar. https://www.coreboot.org/Binary_situation https://libreboot.org/faq/#amd
While these people are a minority among tech users, it could be used to AMD's advantage in a Public Image Perception against Intel. So please, take a moment to consider releasing the source code of the PSP to FOSS groups.
Did I also mention sites like https://puri.sm/ exist to sell secure laptops to people? They are not a fan of Intel Management Engine last I heard.
More Arguments:
- Security Through Obscurity doesn't work. As mention by /u/Gusec At some point in time, (somebody or some organization) will break this. It's not going to help when you don't even know what attack vector they used. If the source code is released, it is much more likely to be discovered and fixed.
- There are Economic Incentives to do so Many Libre/coreboot users use old technology that is second hand. Second hand buying= lost sales for AMD (And Intel). If releasing the source code requires very little effort, and gains you customers, then why not? Also realize these customers are likely to be (repeat) customers due to their beliefs in technology, "Icing on the cake" as one would say.
- Advertising AMD is not Intel, they cannot afford to make Super Bowl ads all the time. The same people who usually use coreboot/ Libreboot are usually hardcore enthusiasts. These are usually people who work IT jobs, work in large companies regarding computers (that require security). These people will push Ryzen to other markets hard, and free too.
- "When two strong armies meet, the braver one wins, when two brave armies meet, the stronger one wins"-Unknown Considering that Ryzen is ~ Intel's Core series, It's the small things like this that push the perception of a company. Intel retracted its support for science fairs, capitalize on that and make AMD look unique. Those same tech people that use Libre/Coreboot will support you to the death if you continue to support FOSS. But what if ARM does it first? What if Intel does it first? Well, you've lost a chance to make yourself better at the cost of Intel.
- Mindshare Intel has its Iconic logo, the catchy tune, and what people refer to as "quality". AMD needs something other than just that, "That chip maker" or "Faildozer". AMD can become "The company that supports Opensource".
An AMD official replied to this comment as follows:
Thanks for the inquiry. Currently we do not have plans to release source code but you make a good argument for reasons to do so. We will evaluate and find a way to work with security vendors and the community to everyone's benefit.
In my opinion, it would be THE argument for buying AMD CPUs for FLOSS enthusiasts if they officially decided to support coreboot. It would finally give the FLOSS community the opportunity to build completely free systems without having to rely on either pre-2008 hardware or completely unfree hardware components. People could finally be able to build computers without having to fear to be spied upon through backdoors hiding in proprietary components of their BIOS. If you are on Reddit, please help by further upvoting this comment and spreading the word. Thank you!
P.S: There is, however, one thing I disagree about in the quoted comment above. In my opinion the Purism project is nothing but a fraud as they have been making false claims about the freedom provided by their laptops from the very beginning. One day I might write an article about this project. Until then I would like to refer you to this and that article, if you want to read more on why the laptops from this company currently don't provide more freedom than any other laptops on this planet.