[PeterisP]

This is a big security issue, because the operating system security model relies on assumptions that can be (and are) broken by these devices in ways that the OS can't control.

The appropriate model would be exactly the one described in the original article above - explicitly treat the computer as a network of devices, and have the OS on the main CPU acknowledge that it is effectively sending a message to e.g. RAM over a shared network that also contains multiple other devices, potentially untrusted.

[pabs3]

Linux already knows what firmware is and calls interfaces provided by firmware, so this isn't exactly a stretch for an OS model. The major issue is that all that firmware is proprietary and NDAs and patents block any OS or open source code from taking over the role of the proprietary firmware.

[renox]

This problem isn't new.. I remember Creative Sound cards hogging the PCI bus longer than their allocated time slice, a sure way to destabilise the entire computer. IMHO there's no solution, the only thing you can do is to select carefully the HW providers you use and do lots of tests..