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The Tech Industry Is Watching You…
John Stith
Staff Writer
2005-12-19
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Something I heard about a few years ago was a system of having software and hardware tied together in a computer to mark the system and it's user. A new chip designed to combat fraud and piracy on the Internet using just that system is in the works. A new security chip, called the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), will be put into all kinds of systems, not just computers.
 | | The Tech Industry Is Watching You… |  |
MSNBC carried an article detailing this little chip on their website last week. The chip, embraced by many companies including Microsoft, HP, AMD, IBM, Sun and others, essentially puts a permanent marker onto every computer. The identifier couldn't be changed.
The chip will check for software that's been altered for malicious purposes. It will also help prevent Internet fraud and identity fraud, both of which cost consumers tons of money every year. When people log on to their computers, it will probably require a pin number or some tougher security system like something biometric.
This chip could also help monitor sites to make sure they were legitimate. And as many in the industry think people will move toward more web-based applications, then this will help protect that avenue as well. There's a lot more and these are just a few examples of what the chip's potential is. The problem is there is always two sides to a story.
The downside is that every aspect of your computer behavior will be monitored. Anything you might download, legal or not, will be monitored. They'll know if something is legally licensed to run on your machine. So when you borrow a DVD from your brother, it might be a problem. If you tried to burn a copy… you computer would tell you, "No."
This is a tough issue to get a hold on for many people. While things like phishing scams and software piracy are problems in the Internet world, privacy concerns are legitimate. In a time when people are worried about civil liberties and controversies are stewing over the federal government wiretapping its citizens, the tech companies will be able to monitor everything one does, regardless of what service they use. I suppose it's true then; privacy really is just an illusion.
About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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