Cyber Crime
It appears inevitable that the exploitation of the internet for criminal gain and ‘cyber’ terrorism will continue to be a threat into the foreseeable future.
Almost every home and business with internet access has become increasingly dependant upon maintaining this access 24/7 for transactions ranging from browsing for research purposes through to email and eCommerce. Interruptions to these systems are able to cripple business and result in significant loss of revenue.
TPM
Future proofing the reliability and security of the internet could mean tighter control on our access to it. Anonymity will become a thing of the past. Over the past 12 months many PC’s worldwide have been equipped with a new security chip called the Trusted Platform Module. In the majority of cases the chip is currently de-activated but can be enabled by software.
Microsoft’s new desktop operating system Windows Vista will use this technology as part of the feature “BitLocker Drive Encryption”. BitLocker will encrypt the entire computer’s volume for security. The chip is one initiative developed and supported by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG.) In this organization, only a few companies, called “promoters,” have the right to make decisions; currently, the promoters are AMD, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Seagate, Sony, Sun and Verisign.
Once merchants and other online services begin to use it, the TPM will allow for virtually fool-proof verification over the internet that your computer (and therefore you) - are who you say you are.
Some of the benefits include:
- Extension of other safety products such as SmartCards, fingerprint readers
- Improved encoding of wireless usage, as well as protection of the data and data integrity (spoofing protection)
- File and folder encoding
- Encoded mailing (code keys produced via TPM)
- Controlling of access and access rights in networks
- Protection from hacker attacks (system attacks, DOS/network attacks)
- Secure single sign-on, a “global” user authentication
