Trusted Computing Group: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|American-based computer technology consortium}}

{{Infobox Company

{{Infobox company

| company_name = Trusted Computing Group

| name = Trusted Computing Group

| company_logo = [[Image:Tcg logo.PNG]]

| logo = Trusted Computing Group logo.png

| company_type = [[Consortium]]

| type = [[Consortium]]

| location_city = [[Beaverton, Oregon]]<ref>[https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/about/contact_us/ Trusted Computing Group: Contact Us<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

| location_city = [[Beaverton, OR]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://trustedcomputinggroup.org/about/ |title=About Trusted Computing Group |access-date=2020-10-29 |archive-date=2020-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117131744/https://trustedcomputinggroup.org/about/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

| location_country = USA

| location_country = United States

| foundation = 2003<ref>[https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/faq/ Trusted Computing Group: FAQs<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

| foundation = 2003

| founder = [[AMD]], [[Hewlett-Packard]], [[IBM]], [[Intel]], [[Microsoft]]| homepage = [http://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/ trustedcomputinggroup.org]

| founder = [[AMD]], [[Hewlett-Packard]], [[IBM]], [[Intel]], [[Microsoft]]

| homepage = {{URL|https://trustedcomputinggroup.org}}

}}

The '''Trusted Computing Group''' is a group formed in 2003 as the successor to the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance which was previously formed in 1999 to implement [[Trusted Computing]] concepts across personal computers.<ref name="TCGInception">{{cite web

| url=http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1202119

| title=New group aims to secure PCs, PDAs, cell phones

| author=Rick Merritt

| date=April 8, 2003

| accessdate=2014-11-17

| archive-date=2014-11-29

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129031123/http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1202119

| url-status=live

}}</ref> Members include [[Intel]], [[AMD]], [[IBM]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Cisco]].

The core idea of trusted computing is to give hardware manufacturers control over what software does and does not run on a system by refusing to run unsigned software.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/faq/TPMFAQ/ |title=Trusted Computing Group: TPM FAQ |website=www.trustedcomputinggroup.org |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061003155033/https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/faq/TPMFAQ/ |archive-date=3 October 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The '''Trusted Computing Group''' ('''TCG'''), successor to the '''Trusted Computing Platform Alliance''' ('''TCPA'''), is an initiative started by [[AMD]], [[Hewlett-Packard]], [[IBM]], [[Intel]], and [[Microsoft]] to implement [[Trusted Computing]]. Many others followed.

== OverviewHistory ==

{{pic|File:Logo of the Trusted Computing Group (2004).svg|Logo as of 2004}}

TCG's original goal was the development of a [[Trusted Platform Module]] (TPM), a [[semiconductor intellectual property core]] or [[integrated circuit]] that conforms to the trusted platform module specification put forward by the Trusted Computing Group and is to be included with computers to enable [[trusted computing]] features. TCG-compliant functionality has since been integrated directly into certain{{Specify|date=May 2008}} mass-market chipsets.

On October 11, 1999, the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance (abbreviated as TCPA), a consortium of various technology companies including Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, and Microsoft, was formed in an effort to promote trust and security in the personal computing platform.<ref name="TCPAInception">{{cite web

| url=https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/2016.wss

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129042827/https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/2016.wss

| url-status=dead

| archive-date=November 29, 2014

| title=Compaq, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Intel, and Microsoft Announce Open Alliance to Build Trust and Security into PCs for e-business

| author=IBM News Room

| date=October 11, 1999

| accessdate=2014-11-17}}</ref> In November 1999, the TCPA announced that over 70 leading hardware and software companies joined the alliance in the first month.<ref name="TCPA-FC">{{cite web

|url=http://www.trustedpc.org/press/pdf/TCPA111999REL.pdf

|title=Trusted Computing Platform Alliance Holds Founding Conference

|author=Jeanne Orfinik

|date=November 19, 1999

|accessdate=2014-11-17

|url-status=unfit

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020606142131/http://www.trustedpc.org/press/pdf/TCPA111999REL.pdf |archivedate=June 6, 2002 }}</ref> On January 30, 2001, version 1.0 of the Trusted Computing Platform Specifications was released.<ref name="TCPA-v1.0">{{cite web|url=http://www.trustedcomputing.org/docs/tcpa_final.pdf

|title=Trusted Computing Platform Alliance Announces v.1.0 Specifications for Trusted Computing

|author=Trusted Computing Platform Alliance

|date=January 30, 2001 |accessdate=2014-11-17

|url-status=unfit

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020806140425/http://www.trustedcomputing.org/docs/tcpa_final.pdf

|archivedate=August 6, 2002 }}</ref> IBM was the first [[original equipment manufacturer]] to incorporate hardware features based on the specifications with the introduction of its ThinkPad T30 mobile computer in 2002.<ref name="IBM-TP">{{cite web

| url=http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1144608

| title=IBM ThinkPad complies with TCPA security spec

| author=Rick Merritt

| date=April 24, 2002

| accessdate=2014-11-17}}</ref>

In 2003, the TCPA was succeeded by the Trusted Computing Group, with an increased emphasis on mobile devices.<ref name="TCGInception"/>

TCG also recently released the first version of their [[Trusted Network Connect]] ("TNC") protocol specification, based on the principles of [[AAA protocol|AAA]], but adding the ability to authorize network clients on the basis of [[computer hardware|hardware]] configuration, [[BIOS]], [[kernel (computer science)|kernel]] version, and which updates that have been applied to the [[Operating system|OS]] and [[anti-virus software]], etc.<ref>https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/downloads/specifications/TNC_Architecture_v1_0_r4.pdf</ref>

Membership fees vary by level. Promoters pay annual membership fees of $30,000, contributors pay $15,000, and depending upon company size, adopters pay annual membership fees of either $2,500 or $7,500.<ref>{{cite web

Seagate has also developed a Full Disk encryption drive which can use the ability of the TPM to secure the key within the hardware chip.

|url=https://trustedcomputinggroup.org/membership/

|title=Membership

|publisher=Trusted Computing Group

|date=2020-05-01

|accessdate=2020-05-01}}</ref>

== Overview ==

The owner of a TPM-enabled system has complete control over what software does and doesn't run on their system <ref>[https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/faq/TPMFAQ/ The Trusted Platform Module FAQ] from the TCG website</ref> This does include the possibility that a system owner would choose to run a version of an operating system that refuses to load unsigned or unlicensed software, but those restrictions would have to be enforced by the operating system and not by the TCG technology. What a TPM does provide in this case is the capability for the OS to lock software to specific machine configurations, meaning that "hacked" versions of the OS designed to get around these restrictions would not work. While there is legitimate concern that OS vendors could use these capabilities to restrict what software would load under their OS (hurting small software companies or open source/shareware/freeware providers, and causing [[vendor lock-in]] for some data formats), no OS vendor has yet suggested that this is planned. Furthermore, since restrictions would be a function of the operating system, TPMs could in no way restrict alternative operating systems from running , including free or open source operating systems. There are several projects which are experimenting with TPM support in free operating systems - examples of such projects include a TPM device driver for Linux<ref>[http://tpmdd.sourceforge.net Linux TPM Device Driver<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, an open source implementation of the TCG's Trusted Software Stack called TrouSerS<ref>[http://trousers.sourceforge.net TrouSerS - The open-source TCG Software Stack<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, a Java interface to TPM capabilities called TPM/J<ref>[http://projects.csail.mit.edu/tc/tpmj/ TPM/J Java-based API for the Trusted Platform Module (TPM)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, and a TPM-supporting version of the Grub bootloader called TrustedGrub.<ref>[http://sourceforge.net/projects/trustedgrub/ SourceForge.net: TrustedGRUB<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

TCG's most successful effort was the development of a [[Trusted Platform Module]] (TPM), a [[semiconductor intellectual property core]] or [[integrated circuit]] that conforms to the specification to enable [[trusted computing]] features in computers and mobile devices. Related efforts involved [[Trusted Network Connect]], to bring trusted computing to network connections, and [[Storage Core Architecture]] / [[Opal_Storage_Specification|Security Subsystem Class]], to bring trusted computing to disk drives and other storage devices. These efforts have not achieved the same level of widespread adoption as the trusted platform module.

== Related projects ==

The TPM 1.1 specification envisioned a standard PC platform equipped with a TPM chip. In this scenario, the TPM chip can serve as a hardware key storage. Additionally, it can keep track of so-called measurements of the platform (i.e. hashes of various software) and be able to produce signed statements about the running software chain. Particularly the latter mode of operation proved unfeasible in practice, since the amount of software that has to be measured and trusted is very large - it includes (in addition to the system firmware) the operating system, drivers and application programs. Therefore numerous other TPM-related projects are in progress, the purpose of which is to make it possible to launch and measure a trusted subenvironment from within an untrusted environment. The TPM specification 1.2 has been enhanced to accommodate this mode of operation. Additionally, hardware changes are required in the CPU and chipset (note that this should not be confused with the inclusion of TPM functionality into the chipset even though this is a possibility too). [[Intel]]'s approach is called [[Trusted Execution Technology]] (TXT). Many of Intel's Core 2 Duo CPUs are advertised to support these extensions. However, chipset support is required for the extensions to be operational. Currently, Intel's chipset Q35 Express supports TXT. In addition to chipset support, the mainboard must also feature a TPM 1.2 chip. Intel currently advertises DQ35MP and DQ35JO as being compliant with the technology. The first application of the technology will be a set of manageability enhancements under the brand name vPro.

[[AMD]]'s platform is called Secure Execution Mode.<ref>[http://conference.digitalidworld.com/2004/attendees/slides/1027_1700_E1.pdf AMD Platform for Trustworthy Computing<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

In 2002-2003, Microsoft announced an initiative called [[Next-Generation Secure Computing Base]] (formerly Palladium). This was basically a vision of how a TPM 1.2 chip, CPU, chipset and software could provide an environment and a software ecosystem in which trusted applications (launched from within "regular" Windows) could be developed. Intel's TXT and AMD's SEM can be seen as realizations of the hardware side of the NGSCB vision. Owing to significant difficulties in creating a working implementation that third-party developers were interested in using and in unavailability of the enhancements to CPU and chipset, NGSCB was not included with Microsoft's newest major operating system release, [[Windows Vista]]. Instead, Vista ships with a few technologies that can make use of a subset of the functions of the TPM chip (but not of Intel's TXT or AMD's SEM), such as [[BitLocker Drive Encryption]], and a new version of the [[Cryptographic Application Programming Interface|Microsoft Cryptography API]].<ref>[http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/library/c61f2a12-8ae6-4957-b031-97b4d762cf31.mspx Windows Vista Technical Library Roadmap<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Criticism==

{{more2Further|Trusted Computing#Criticism}}

The group historically faced opposition from the [[free software]] community on the grounds that the technology had a negative impact on the users' privacy and can create customer [[vendor lock-in|lock-in]], especially if it is used to create [[Digital rights management|DRM]] applications. It received criticism from the [[Linux]] and [[FreeBSD]] communities, as well as the software development community in general.

{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2008}}

The group has faced widescale opposition from the [[free software]] community on the grounds that the technology they are developing has a negative impact on the users' privacy and can create customer [[vendor lock-in|lock-in]], especially if it is used to create [[Digital rights management|DRM]] applications. It has received criticism from the [[GNU|GNU/Linux]] and [[FreeBSD]] communities, as well as the software development community in general. Significant backlash amongst the Trusted Computing Group was present during [[Richard Stallman]]'s speech at the [[Hackers on Planet Earth]] conference in July 2006, in New York. Richard Stallman and the [[Free Software Foundation]] have also criticized the group publicly in other speeches. The criticism calls Trusted Computing "Treacherous Computing" instead and warns that vendors can lock out software that is not officially signed by specific vendors, rendering it unusable.

==ISO standardization==

Privacy concerns with the TCG revolve around the fact that each TPM has a unique keypair, called the "endorsement key", that identifies the platform. In initial versions of the TPM (version 1.1), the TCG addressed privacy concerns by suggesting the use of a "Privacy CA" that could certify [[pseudonymity|pseudonymous]] machine credentials. By having separate credentials for interacting with different parties, actions could not be linked, and so some level of privacy is provided. However, this requires trust in the Privacy CA, who could still link pseudonyms to the common, identifying machine credential. Since this left unresolved privacy concerns, version 1.2 of the TPM specification introduced "[[Direct anonymous attestation]]": a protocol based on the idea of a [[zero-knowledge proof]] which allows a TPM user to receive a certification in such a way that the Privacy CA would not be able to link requests to a single user or platform, while still being able to identify rogue TPMs.

In 2009, ISO/IEC release trusted platform module standards

* ISO/IEC 11889-1:2009 Information technology—Trusted Platform Module—Part 1: Overview

* ISO/IEC 11889-2:2009 Information technology—Trusted Platform Module—Part 2: Design principles

* ISO/IEC 11889-3:2009 Information technology—Trusted Platform Module—Part 3: Structures

* ISO/IEC 11889-4:2009 Information technology—Trusted Platform Module—Part 4: Commands

==References==

Privacy concerns for TPM were heighten when [[Christopher Tarnovsky's]] presentation ["Deconstructing a Secure Processor" at [[Black Hat]] 2010]. [[Christopher Tarnovsky]] presented methods to access and compromise the Infineon TPM non-volatile memory capacity which contains user data.--[[User:Zeroandones|Zeroandones]] ([[User talk:Zeroandones|talk]]) 13:43, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==

==[[ISO]] Standardization efforts ==

* {{Official website}}

Some efforts exist to have the Trusted computing specifications standardized by ISO. This was active for a first part in October 2007 and member states of the ISO/DIS JTC1 are expected to send their opinion to ISO by July 24 2008.

{{Authority control}}

The concerned documents are referred to as

* ISO/IEC DIS 11889-1 Trusted Platform Module -- Part 1: Overview

* ISO/IEC DIS 11889-2 Trusted Platform Module -- Part 2: Design principles

* ISO/IEC DIS 11889-3 Trusted Platform Module -- Part 3: Structures

* ISO/IEC DIS 11889-4 - Trusted Platform Module -- Part 4: Commands

[[Category:Trusted computing| ]]

==Members==

As of May 2008<ref>[https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/about/members/ TCG Current Members] from the TCG website</ref>, about 130 enterprises are promoters of, contributors to, or adopters of TCG specifications.

Membership fees vary by level. Promoters pay annual membership fees of $55,000, contributors pay $16,500, and depending upon company size, adopters pay annual membership fees of either $1,000 or $8,250.<ref>[https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/join/levels/ Trusted Computing Group: Levels of Membership<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

{{Wikify|list of companies|date=May 2008}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-3}}

===Promoters===

# [[AMD]]

# [[Fujitsu]]

# [[Hewlett-Packard]]

# [[IBM]]

# [[Infineon]]

# [[Intel Corporation]]

# [[Lenovo|Lenovo Holdings Limited]]

# [[Microsoft]]

# [[Sun Microsystems|Sun Microsystems, Inc.]]

# [[Seagate Technology|Seagate]]

# Wave Systems Corp

{{col-3}}

===Contributors===

# American Megatrends Inc.[http://www.ami.com]

# AMOSSYS

# Aruba Networks

# Atmel

# AuthenTec, Inc.

# Broadcom Corporation

# Certicom Corp.

# Citrix Systems, Inc

# Decru

# Dell, Inc.

# DPHI, Inc.

# Emulex Corporation

# Enterasys Networks

# Ericsson Mobile Platforms AB

# ETRI

# Extreme Networks

# Freescale Semiconductor

# Fujitsu Siemens Computers

# Gemalto NV

# General Dynamics C4 Systems

# Giesecke & Devrient

# Green Hills Software, Inc.

# HID Global

# Hitachi, Ltd.

# Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

# Identity Engines

# Infoblox

# [[Insyde Software|Insyde Software Corp.]]

# [[InterDigital Communications, LLC]]

# ITE Tech Inc.

# Juniper Networks, Inc.

# Lancope, Inc.

# Lexar Media, Inc.

# Lexmark International

# LSI Logic

# Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.

# McAfee, Inc.

# Mobile Armor, Inc.

# NEC

# Nokia

# Nokia Siemens Networks GmbH & Co. KG

# Nortel

# NTRU Cryptosystems, Inc.

# Nuvoton technologies

# NVIDIA

# NXP Semiconductors

# Oxford Semiconductor

# [[Panasonic|Panasonic Corporation]]

# Phoenix

# PMC-Sierra

# Renesas Technology Corp.

# Ricoh Company LTD

# RSA, The Security Division of EMC

# Samsung Electronics Co.

# SanDisk Corporation

# Seagate Technology

# Siemens AG

# SMSC

# Sony Corporation

# Spansion LLC

# StillSecure

# STMicroelectronics

# Symantec

# Symbian Ltd

# Toshiba Corporation

# Trapeze Networks, Inc.

# Unisys

# UPEK, Inc.

# Utimaco Safeware AG

# VMware, Inc.

# Vodafone Group Services LTD

# Wave Systems

# Western Digital

{{col-3}}

===Adopters===

# Apani Networks

# ArcSight, Inc.

# AUCONET GmbH

# [http://www.avendasys.com Avenda Systems]

# [[BigFix | Bigfix]]

# Bioscrypt Inc.

# Bit9, Inc.

# Blue Ridge Networks

# BlueCat Networks

# BlueRISC, Inc.

# Bradford Networks

# CMS Products

# ConSentry Networks

# CPR Tools, Inc.

# Credant Technologies

# Cryptomathic Ltd.

# CryptoMill Technologies LTD

# ForeScout Technologies

# Great Bay Software, Inc

# Hangzhou Synochip Technology Co., Ltd.

# High Density Devices

# ICT Economic Impact, Ltd.

# IDEX ASA

# Insight International Corp

# Link-A-Media Devices

# Lockdown Networks

# Lumeta Corporation

# Mazu Networks

# Mirage Networks

# MoSys, Inc.

# Nanjing Byosoft, Ltd.

# nSolutions, Inc.

# Penza Research Electrotechnical Institute (FGUP "PNIEI")

# Q1 Labs

# Rohati Systems

# SafeBoot

# Safend LTD.

# [http://www.shavlik.com Shavlik Technologies, LLC]

# SignaCert, Inc.

# Sirrix AG Security Technologies

# SkyRecon Systems

# Softex, Inc.

# Stonewood Electronics Ltd.

# TELUS

# Thales Communication

# The Boeing Company

# Trust Digital

# UNETsystem

# Valicore Technologies, Inc.

# ViaSat, Inc.

# Vormetric Inc.

{{col-end}}

==See also==

*[[Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act]]

== References ==

{{reflist|2}}

==External links==

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* [http://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/ TCG website], with a [http://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/blog blog]

* [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/can-you-trust.html "Can you trust your computer?"] by [[Richard Stallman]], from the [[GNU Project]] website

* [http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/tcpa-faq.html Trusted Computing FAQ] by [[Ross J. Anderson (professor)|Ross Anderson]]

* [https://media.blackhat.com/bh-dc-10/video/Tarnovsky_Chris/BlackHat-DC-2010-Tarnovsky-DeconstructProcessor-video.m4v] by {{Christopher Tarnovsky]] from [[Flylogic.net]]

[[Category:Trusted computing]]

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