IBM Trials TCPA Chip Under Linux

keihin writes "From IBM: IBM's Global Security Analysis Lab (GSAL) has done extensive analysis of the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance (TCPA) chip available on some IBM systems. We have the chip running under Linux, and have studied it extensively. In order to clarify a lot of misunderstanding about the chip, we are making available some helpful white papers and open source device drivers for Linux, so that interested people can test and use the chip in an open environment."

Comments

At least read some of it before commenting...

[26199]

The white paper explains why it would be easy to circumvent this chip if you have physical access to it.

DRM it is not.

They've released full GPL source code.

Looks like it could be useful.../p>

Passing the blame.

[Phoenix823]

While perhaps technically inaccurate as to the difference between TCPA and Palladium, I think the spirit of the attacks made against the platform are valid. While yes, perhaps TCPA doesn't directly enable all the horrible things we Slashbots complain about, but the paper is just passing the blame.

IBM says "this has nothing to do with DRM. In fact, it doesn't protect it from owner-tampering so it's not any great DRM replacement." Of course, they don't mention that it's more than likely that in the near future, a version of Windows will take advantage of it. Maybe the OS will encode all recorded music with your public key so it's unplayable on any other machine? Who knows, the possibilites really are limitless.

I wonder how many TCPA computers will be running Windows with Palladium enabled. Neither paper seemed to be catering to a very tech-head audience, so why make needlessly complicated distinctions between TCPA, Palladium, databuses, etc?

Re:Passing the blame.

[Billly Gates]

Well the good news is that you can turn it off. The bad news is that the email from grandma may require palladium and not TCPA. TCPA is different then Palladium and has been in use since 99 on almost all IBM systems. Ask any ThinkPad owner. Also there are only 2 chips in the motherboard that make up the TCPA as well as a special bios.

In palladium each component must be certified and it uses a trust relationship to prevent tampering. To me palladium sounds like a way for Microsoft to make sure you can not upgrade more then afew components at a time without paying the piper but who knows. It sounds more stict and anti-user. Also rumours have it that Bill Gates wants to use palladium as a way to stomp out piracy in asia and they also view OOS as the bigggest competitor since os/2. Scary.

TCPA was formed to secure and enhance e-commerce as well as secure corporate desktops. In this day and age the security is greatly needed.

If hollywood wines and complains and the hollings bill passes, I prefer TCPA anyday and its a more open and industry standard solution. Linux will be supported since any thid party can sign it and no company is the "official" gatekeeper. Think SSL. The gatekeeper argument is the scariest and as long as it stays open then its not a problem. IBM has invested billions in Linux and wants it to susceed.

Some nice quotes from the misinfo rebuttal

[pridkett]

For those of you who didn't read the stuff:

The bottom line is that TCPA and Palladium are two different projects. The TCPA hardware provides only a subset of the full Palladium functionality, which includes significant additional hardware and software elements. Only TCPA already has a freely downloadable detailed specification, and a tested port of all driver and library level software to Linux.

Don't get completely up in arms about this is what is trying to say. Then he has an even better quote later:

My personal opinion (not speaking for IBM) is that DRM is stupid, because it can never be effective[6,7], and it takes away existing rights of the consumer. But this is not the place for that debate. To condemn TCPA for the ability to run a bad application is absurd. This argument is exactly like the arguments of governments in their attempts to ban encryption, under the rationale that encryption can be used by terrorists to hide their messages.

Ahh...it's great to take stuff outta context.

You dont make sense

[QuantumG]

Let's stop thinking about Windows for a second, seeing as IBM has presented a bunch of GPL drivers for Linux. On my Linux box, I choose how to use this chip. Instead of running ssh-keygen I run a client program and tell the chip to generate my keys. Then when I want something encrypted with the private key that it has generated I just send it the data and it encrypts it for me. I'm completely in control.

The most obvious use is to authorize my connection to a remote server. If the private key is safely locked away on the chip then I can be assured that only my machine can connect to the remote server with that identity.

Another use would be to sign emails. Again, I can be assured that any email that is signed with a key that is safely locked on the chip could only have been signed by someone using my machine.

In fact, I'm hard pressed to come up with a way that this chip could be used to do DRM under Linux. Can you?

Re:Linux vs. Linux users

[Arandir]

That is it was designed to encourage the free sharing of information in a communal fashion.

Thomas Jefferson (paraphrased): "If men were angels there would be no need for government, but since they aren't, there is."

It would be really nice if people didn't steal. But they do. Therefore I fully support the right of anyone to aquire and use the strongest locks possible. The only way I know of preventing people from stealing my financial, medical and personal information from my computer is to lock it up. If TCPA make this easy to do without giving up rights to third parties, then the prudent will use it.