PDAs - IBM is building security into chips

**Frenchy** · 05-25-06, 12:44 PM

Prepare for Secure Blue
by Joris Evers

Researchers at IBM have come up with a way to hard wire encryption technology into a microprocessor, promising a more secure way to store data.

IBM plans to announce availability of the new technology, dubbed Secure Blue. The company envisions its idea and technology will be used in digital media players, electronic organizers, cell phones, computers and devices used by the government, medical and financial services industry.

With Secure Blue, data is encrypted and decrypted as it runs through processor, according to IBM. It is maintained encrypted in the device memory, or RAM. One of the few times data would not be scrambled is when it is actually displayed.

Charles Palmer, manager security and privacy at IBM, said: "There is a lot of concern about leakage of data. If you have an architecture where that information is always encrypted, you go a long way to protect your data."

Secure Blue requires a few circuits to be added to a microprocessor, taking up a few per cent of the overall silicon real estate, according to IBM. The encryption and decryption happens on-the-fly, without any processor overhead, the company said.

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05-25-06, 01:38 PM

Awesome news. Thanks Frenchy.

greytrev · 05-25-06, 07:22 PM

this smacks of the beginnings of UCETA and UETA. personally, i don't like it.

google either of them.

UCETA forces tight licensing restrictions on users, and what you agree to doesn't have to be in bold print. or in any print at all. UETA would require developers to purchase a "electronic key" to distribute applications, which would be the end of freeware and shareware - it would be too cost-prohibitive for someone like myself to buy a key. then users are left to the larger software giants, and locked into whatever terms they set.

face it, with either bill passing, you're pretty much shafted as a consumer or small time developer. and this, to me, looks like the cursory positioning of a software and hardware giant to get ready to grab the field if either of those initiatives pass.

just my two p.

dst · 05-25-06, 07:31 PM

It's called leverage. It's why the rich get richer and the big get bigger and if you don't like, tough. We'll sick the FBI to raid your office or the NSA to tap your line.

picopir8 · 05-25-06, 07:46 PM

Sounds good, but the name sort of reminds me of soilent green.

I can almost hear Charton Heston now... "Soon they'll be fabricating us like microchips! You've got to warn everyone and tell them! Secure Blue is made of people! You've got to tell them! Secure Blue is people!"

Pocketbrain · 05-25-06, 09:06 PM

Quote:

. The company envisions its idea and technology will be used in digital media players, electronic organizers, cell phones, computers ....

Digital media players listed first... they don't even try to hide it.

(X)

05-25-06, 09:14 PM

Sounds good in theory, but the info greytrev reports is troubling.

greytrev · 05-26-06, 10:05 AM

http://www.ucita.com/

http://www.drbilllong.com/Sales/UETA.html

http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story...6-001-05-NW-LF

just a few to get you started. in a few articles i found on the topic, guess who was mentioned? our friend, big blue. and this is happening state by state.

CodeBubba · 05-26-06, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by dst

It's called leverage. It's why the rich get richer and the big get bigger and if you don't like, tough. We'll sick the FBI to raid your office or the NSA to tap your line.

No, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer because the rich keep doing the things that got them rich and the poor keep doing the things that got them poor.

-CB

Pocketbrain · 05-26-06, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by CodeBubba

No, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer because the rich keep doing the things that got them rich and the poor keep doing the things that got them poor.

-CB

... and sometimes, the rich do things that get them poor.