[dracolytch]

CPU backdoors are a very real concern, but not only in the CPU but in the growing complexity of the motherboard chipset. For example, a malicious memory controller could manipulate data on the way to the CPU, causing a faithful CPU to do malicious things.

For highly secured systems, this is of growing concern. With the amount of stuff made in China the supply chain is considered a considerable attack surface which has to be considered when sourcing electronics.

[anonbanker]

I abandoned x86 a few years back, because I'm far less concerned about China knowing my secrets than I am with the Five Eyes countries violating my privacy. The likelihood of the nsa or gchq tampering with an allwinner or freescale chip en route is much lower than with Intel or AMD. And far more resources would be involved than would be financially reasonable to tailor an operation for a small-potatoes corporation running an all-ARM setup like mine.

So I'm seeing it as a decrease in attack surface, overall.