Trusted Computing: A Universal Security Infrastructure?

Professor Chris Mitchell, Erskine Visitor

Royal Holloway College, University of London

Wed Mar 21 10:00:00 NZST 2007 in Room 315, MSCS

Abstract

As is becoming well-known, many PCs are now being shipped with a built-in hardware security module known as a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). New versions of operating systems are beginning to take advantage of the presence of this security hardware to offer enhanced security features (e.g. Bitlocker in Windows Vista). After a brief high-level introduction to the capabilities of the TPM, and what it is being used for right now, the main focus of this talk is on one particular possible application of the TPM, namely the provision of a universal security infrastructure. Whilst the universal PKI, widely predicted, has failed to emerge, such a universal security infrastructure might be about to arrive on our desktops 'by the back door'. The possible use of TPM to provide such a universal security infrastructure will be discussed, as will the practical implications of such a development for PC and information systems security.