(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
UPDATE 06/22: In a statement to PCMag, AMD acknowledges that a BIOS option to enable Memory Guard on certain non-PRO Ryzen 9000-series desktop processors "was previously available but was removed in a recent update." However, "Based on valuable community feedback, we will reinstate this option in an upcoming BIOS release in July."
TSME is "a foundational security feature, and we have no plans to remove support from our Ryzen PRO lineup. This commitment holds now and in the future," AMD adds.
Original Story 6/18:
AMD has quietly removed a long-standing memory encryption security feature that helped protect user data from physical attacks.
As Ars Technica reports, the feature is still present in older BIOS firmware, but any AMD systems updated to AGESA 1.2.7.0 will be without it.
AMD introduced Transparent Secure Memory Encryption (TSME) on its premium CPUs over a decade ago. It encrypts data stored in memory, making it impossible for attackers to read any data they siphon off the chips. That disincentivizes physical attacks (such as cold-boot attacks) and better protects user data. Over the years, AMD has introduced this feature in more of its mainstream Ryzen CPUs, but in this most recent BIOS firmware update, it seems to have removed it arbitrarily and without warning.
This was spotted by Linux hobbyist Ben Kilpatrick, who in April ran an audit of a new OS install on an AMD Ryzen 9700X system. To his surprise, he found the encryption feature unavailable. He spent months going back and forth with his motherboard vendor, MSI, and AMD engineers, trying to nail down what had happened. He filed bug reports, assuming that this might be a problem AMD wanted to fix, but so far, it's seemingly been unwilling to comment.
Kilpatrick told Ars Technica that MSI's marketing team spoke with AMD, and that officially, only PRO series Ryzen CPUs support TSME. Although the consumer Ryzen CPUs can handle it, and the motherboards support the feature, it's no longer available.
When Kilpatrick pressed AMD on the issue, it seemed to clam up, stating: "My apologies, but I don’t have any more information to share on this topic."
Given that AMD typically reserves additional security features for PRO chips, removing TSME now suggests either that AMD never meant to make it so widely available or that it removed it in the recent update by mistake. It's also possible that it's simply trying to gatekeep more features for its PRO chips. Regardless, Kilpatrick wants an explanation, and AMD Ryzen CPU owners deserve one.
About Our Expert
Jon Martindale is a tech journalist from the UK, with 20 years of experience covering all manner of PC components and associated gadgets. He's written for a range of publications, including ExtremeTech, Digital Trends, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and Lifewire, among others. When not writing, he's a big board gamer and reader, with a particular habit of speed-reading through long manga sagas.Â
Jon covers the latest PC components, as well as how-to guides on everything from how to take a screenshot to how to set up your cryptocurrency wallet. He particularly enjoys the battles between the top tech giants in CPUs and GPUs, and tries his best not to take sides.
Jon's gaming PC is built around the iconic 7950X3D CPU, with a 7900XTX backing it up. That's all the power he needs to play lightweight indie and casual games, as well as more demanding sim titles like Kerbal Space Program. He uses a pair of Jabra Active 8 earbuds and a SteelSeries Arctis Pro wireless headset, and types all day on a Logitech G915 mechanical keyboard.
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