Hardware security in PCs to accompany new Windows

[Colin Smillie]

On 5/18/05, Colin McGregor <colinmc151-bJEeYj9oJeDQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> Intel has been putting serial numbers in their
> microcontroller CPU chips (for doing things like
> controlling industrial equipment where having a unique
> number can be very valueable). Intel did include
> serial numbers in some versions of the Pentium III but
> this was a "feature" that got killed (due to public
> outcry) in the Pentium IV and Celeron CPU chips. Still
> this would be a trivial "feature" to add to systems,
> either as part of the CPU or as some sort of external
> dongle (i.e. "to use this software you must plug in
> this USB memory key"). Now, external dongles have
> never been very popular even though they have been
> tried many times since the Commodore 64 days (and
> before)... Not sure how you could make something like
> serial numbers fly...

My understanding of the Longhorn security hardware is that it will
include a TPM ( Trusted Platform Module ).  IBM ships TPMs from Atmel
in many of their Thinkpads today.  The TPM can store public/private
key pairs uses to validate the software being booted, loaded or
installed.   MS has used similar approaches on their mobile platforms
( Smartphone etc.. ) but generally suffered from alot of
implementation problems.  If implemented right is pretty hard to get
un-signed software to work at all.  I think it will be interesting to
see how MS handles the key distribution for Longhorn.  This could be
the weak-link in their TPC architecture.
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