HP is a founder member of the Trusted Computing Group. HP Labs contributes
expertise to its programme and provides the chair for its technology group. At
its heart is the TPM chip. Think of it as an indelible digital serial number and
an electronic key safe. It uses advanced cryptography to provide a ‘root of
trust’ to authenticate users and validate their machines. The TPM chip provides
the hardware. HP Labs is developing the software that uses the chip to let users
authenticate themselves and remote computers prove they are safe.
Virtualisation has a role in security too. Individual PCs can create virtual
PCs just as servers can create virtual servers. This helps protect computers
against viruses. Each virtual PC is like a walled garden, secure from the rest
of the system, so a virus in one virtual PC can’t infect its siblings. If one is
infected, it can be shut down and a clean, fresh virtual PC created in its
place.
Linking virtualisation and authentication together, HP Labs Bristol
collaborated with IBM, AMD, Sun and Intel to create a new operating system,
called Xen (pronounced ‘zen’). It can create virtual computers in a secure way.
Built on top of the TPM chip, the whole structure is more trustworthy and
reliable than today’s operating systems. Xen itself is moving from prototype to
reality. XenSource, a business built on top of the open source Xen code, was
recently bought by Citrix. Xen points to a future where computers are more
reliable and more trustworthy than they are today.
|
Printable version
