At 4:52 PM +0100 10/22/02, Adam Back wrote:
I think the most important phrase above is "at this point." Palladium is still being designed. I'd argue that the software/firmware portion is the trickiest to get right. It seems rational for Microsoft to let that design mature, then analyze the remaining hardware threats and turn the hardware engineers loose to try to plug them.Remote attestation does indeed require Palladium to be secure against the local user.However my point is while they seem to have done a good job of providing software security for the remote attestation function, it seems at this point that hardware security is laughable.
Palladium has to be viewed in the larger context of a negotiation between Microsoft and Hollywood (I include here all the content owners: movie studios, recording industry, book publishers, etc. ). Hollywood would prefer a completely closed PC architecture, where consumers' use of the computer could be tightly monitored and controlled. They perceive general purpose computing as we know and love it to be a mortal threat to their continued existence. Keeping the content of DVDs and future media locked up is not enough in their eyes. They want all material displayed to be checked for watermarks and blocked or degraded if the PC owner hasn't paid for the content.
Microsoft wants to preserve general purpose computing because it realizes that in a closed architecture, the OS would become a mere commodity component and the consumer electronics giants would eventually displace Microsoft. On the other hand, Microsoft needs Hollywood provide the kind of content that will drive PC sales and upgrades. The base line PC platform of today or even two years ago is powerful enough for most consumers and businesses. People are keeping their PCs longer and not upgrading them as often. Most everyone who wants a PC (at least in North America) already has one. Microsoft needs something new to drive sales.
I expect Microsoft and Hollywood to haggle over the final specs for Palladium PCs and no doubt additional hardware protection measures will be included. The actual spec may well be kept secret, with NDA access only. Hollywood will hold two strong card at the table: its content and the threat of legislation. I'm sure Senator Hollings is watching developments closely.
The big question in my mind is how to get PC consumers a place at the bargaining table. It seems to me that PC consumers have three tools: votes, wallets and technology. The Internet is well suited to political organizing. Remember the amount of mail generated by the modem tax hoax? Consumer boycotts are another powerful threat, given how powerful and upgradable existing computer already are. Technology can provide an alternative way to gain the benefits that will be touted for controlled computing. Anti-virus and anti-DDS techniques come to mind. Also, since I expect an eventual push to ban non-Palladium computers from the Internet, alternative networking technology will be important.
The Palladium story is just beginning.
Arnold Reinhold
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