D3.9: Study on the Impact of Trusted Computing on Identity and Identity Management

Title: APPLICATION AREAS

Application Areas

Distributed Policy Enforcement

Existing technical measures of copyright handling on digital content resp. services (see, e.g., [82, 46, 26]) on end-user devices only registered moderate success, since most of the technical solutions can be totally controlled by the end-users due to the lack of appropriate protection in hardware and software. Experiences in the past have shown that hardware solutions (e.g. dongles) cannot be established because of their high complexity, incompatibility, insufficient security, and limited user acceptance [18]. Moreover, a variety of these techniques were treated as trade secrets; a strategy which contradicts the cryptographic principals, because security should not rely on the secrecy of an algorithm but on the secrecy of a secret parameter (e.g., a cryptographic key). In spite of non-disclosure and legal threats by content providers, most of the methods have been broken in the past (see, e.g., [18, 84]).  

In contrast to existing insecure solutions, the features offered by the TC hardware combined with an appropriate software security layer provides the appropriate basis for the realization of more secure applications. For instance, license agreements can be enforced if these were accepted by the consumer of digital content: On the one hand, it is ensured that users of online-information (e.g., traveling or navigation information, electronic magazines, etc.) can get access to the desired information only against payments, and that they cannot arbitrarily distribute this information to others. On the other hand it can be prevented that providers get more private information about the user than they actually need for providing their service. 

Possible applications with short term potential are copyright protection, eLearning, eBooks, geographical information systems, as well as the area of Telematics in car navigation systems. 

Another field of application is the long term high sale expecting area of providing multimedia content, e.g., video and audio data. Here trusted platforms will considerably complicate the unauthorized distribution of digital content. 

Compartmented Mode Security

Business processes between companies often require the exchange of sensitive data and documents (e.g., financial accounting, patent motions, technical cooperation), whose usage is regulated by contracts (e.g., through secrecy acknowledgments). Company internal protection measures are essential as well, so that access on documents outside the desired workflow is prohibited. This, for example, shall prevent that employees read sensitive documents, distribute documents (accidentally or purposely) outside the company or perform unauthorized changes. 

Existing computing platforms cannot securely handle classified documents (e.g., unclassified, secret, top secret), so that users can circumvent control mechanisms by using available functions for their own purpose or by exploiting known security holes of existing software components. 

Business processes between companies often require the exchange of sensitive data and documents (e.g., financial accounting, patent motions, technical cooperation), whose usage is regulated by contracts (e.g., through secrecy acknowledgments). Company internal protection measures are essential as well, so that access on documents outside the desired workflow is prohibited. This, for example, shall prevent that employees read sensitive documents, distribute documents (accidentally or purposely) outside the company or perform unauthorized changes. 

Existing computing platforms cannot securely handle classified documents (e.g., unclassified, secret, top secret), so that users can circumvent control mechanisms by using available functions for their own purpose or by exploiting known security holes of existing software components. 

Many security problems occur, because companies or public departments are not able to successfully prevent their users to (accidentally or purposely) break the security policies. They are able to install software components on their own or manipulate the IT system otherwise, which leads to potential security lacks, e.g., through viruses, Trojan horses, worms and configuration errors. 

TCG enhanced platforms will provide functionalities that allow to securely enforce external and company wide security policies. This is the basis for the realization of a system with Multi Level Security (MLS), which is customized by practical conditions. Existing MLS solutions are not satisfactory up to now because of their high complexity resp. inefficient configuration (strictly separated hardware). 

Another important example application, which will be realizable in association with a secure computing platform, are Multi Server Systems (MSS), which run, like virtual machine monitors (VMM), different isolated services (e.g., a database, a web server, and a security gateway) in parallel on a single server. 

Secure End-User Systems

Today, a standard personal computer or mobile device, with an off-the-shelf operating system and all the software that one mainly buys for this system, is not secure at all, particularly in the context of digital signatures, eCommerce and eGovernment. Different applications of the same user are not protected from each other and the end-users are confronted with frequent security updates. Moreover, almost all data may nowadays carry executable code and the execution often starts without knowledge of the computer owner. Hence, it is impossible to administer a standard end-user system such that a critical application is protected from all others. 

Trusted computing platforms will offer secure booting and authentication mechanisms which are a necessary and sufficient basis for security relevant applications like secure signature generation, home banking or eGovernment and eCommerce applications. 

Embedded Security

Another important application area for trusted platforms arises due to increasing integration of computer platforms in different products and devices (embedded systems), e.g., as done by the automotive industry. 

The high complexity of the used software leads to higher error probability, which can be compensated by the use of a security kernel. Furthermore, the integration of information- and multimedia systems in cars will play an important role in the future, which will offer new business opportunities for suppliers and manufacturers.