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Transmeta to Incorporate DRM in TM5800 Processor
smiff writes "Silicon Valley is reporting that Transmeta will embed 'security' features in its TM5800 Crusoe processor. 'Transmeta said its Crusoe processors...would be slightly altered to tackle security and address requirements for securing sensitive data and intellectual property.' With everyone looking out for security, why don't I feel all warm and fuzzy inside?"
The RIAA and technology companies have aggreed a deal, that will be anounced in washington on wednesday.
Basicly the RIAA are going to stop lobying for imposed DRM and the tech companies are going to put DRM inplace.
BBC News Story
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
Didn't Intel put a serial number on every processor a few years ago, allegedly to allow for this? Didn't they catch all nature of flack about it?
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If you actually read what Transmeta is adding the talk about security like in SHA, DES and AES. The accelerate the ciphers and MAC calculations. They probably will have a hardware based random number generator. Which is a great thing in itself. Those will probably be the best chips for IPSec gateways and SSH servers. This does not in any way forces certain signed OS to be booted or anything like this.
They say DRM because it sells, but you can use it for signature checking your executables against troyaned versions (and you calculate the signatures when you install from a know, secure media), accelerating your encrypted FS, chat and web traffic. So if you install MS system you get an accelerated DRM PC. You install Linux/xBSD and get an accelerated privacy protected PC. I'd rather have this choice.
is adding DES hardware support, which can be used for all kinds of stuff, but doesn't mean that they built in TCPA (see also this article. I think the DES hardware can be very useful, especially for brute forcing keys ;).
***Quis custodiet ipsos custodes***
You're right, and I'm actually really stoked about this decision. Read this to see another take on the situation.
I like the idea of users being able to encrypt all their stuff without having to install additional software. Am I reading this right?
What are the benefits of producing this kind of DRM hardware?
That your processor will be picked for use in embedded technology, or that studios, etc. won't whine and cry about your CPU because, in theory, it supports DRM?
In otherwords, have DRM and you can either use it or not. Don't have DRM and there may be an entire field of applications that you cannot sell to.
On the other hand, they could drive millions of people like us running. And guess who buy/advise what kind of hardware to buy?
Running to where? Intel? Nope. AMD? Nope. VIA? Maybe, but I doubt it. Cyrix? Don't make me laugh. Motorola/MIPS/IBM? So utterly different it's an absurd concept, especially on cost.
Once one company agreed to include DRM on chip it became a risky proposition not to include it on your competing chip.
Consider it from the company's point of view - it's just another bulletpoint feature. You don't have to use it, anymore than you need to use MMX, or the FPU, or whatever. But if you don't have that bulletpoint then it can be used against you. Sure, you can argue that it's a good "feature" not to have, but that's not how it'll get marketed and you know it.
This sure does look like full-on DRM. I really like the hardware accelerated encryption; it would be great for VPN, IPSec, ssh, etc. It would also be great for DRM. The secure storage for confidential information is a vague way of saying user-inaccessible storage for DRM cryptographic keys. While it does have other uses, DRM is most likely their primary intention. Transmeta probably worded the press release vaguely to hide the fact.
I'd like to have one of these processors, or any processor with encryption acceleration, and secure storage, to be honest, but only if I could access the secure storage myself. In fact, this would be an excellent CPU if the end user and developer could read and modify the secure area... But then, of course, it's not truly a secure area.
A solution to the problem with music today
Doubt it. Security is a good thing, isn't it?
For example, some Eftpos terminals contain a "secure chip" alongside the CPU, which you can write 3DES keys in, and do 3DES on any data, but it is physically impossible to extract the keys. I think few people would call this a bad thing (except people who want to rip off banks...)
Having the Transmeta CPU support this, as the article suggests, would mean that PCs, laptops and other devices could do secure banking and other tasks without their keys being discovered.
Security isn't bad. Rights removal is bad. Don't mix them up..