Privacy and Trusted Computing

This paper examines a model of trusted computing wherein a computing platform is able to make assertions about its current software configuration that may be trusted by the user and remote third parties. The privacy implications of this approach are investigated in the context of the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance (TCPA) specification. The trust relationships of the TCPA architecture are examined in detail. An analysis of the revocation requirements inherent in the TCPA design is presented, which highlights the challenges that revocation presents in the context of a large scale deployment of TCPA platforms. Finally, a modification to the specification is suggested that reduces the level of trust that need to be placed on the Privacy CA.