Trusted Computing: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:40, 26 August 2005

Revision as of 21:15, 26 August 2005

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Such a capability is contingent on the reasonable chance that the user at some time provides user-identifying information, whether voluntarily or indirectly. One common way that information can be obtained and linked is when a user registers a computer just after purchase. Another common way is when a user provides identifying information to the website of an affiliate of the vendor.

As more advancednew identification technologies such as biometrics and RFID become widespread, it is expected that computer users will be identified with still greater certainty, and that ever increasing amounts of information will be available about them. While some believe that online purchases and credit transactions could potentially be more secure as a result of the remote attestation capability, this may cause the computer user to loose a reasonable expectation of anonymity when using the Internet.

Critics point out that this could have a chilling effect on political free speech, the ability of journalists to use anonymous sources, whistleblowing, political blogging and other areas where the public has traditionally enjoyed protection from retaliation through anonymity.