[107698] in Cypherpunks
Re: CDR: Re: Adieu Privacy: Intel identifiziert Chips
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Mok-Kong Shen)
Thu Jan 21 13:17:30 1999
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 18:32:48 +0100
From: Mok-Kong Shen <mok-kong.shen@stud.uni-muenchen.de>
To: cypherpunks@einstein.ssz.com
Reply-To: Mok-Kong Shen <mok-kong.shen@stud.uni-muenchen.de>
Jim Burnes - Denver wrote:
> > "On the one hand it offers more security -- for e-commerce
> > and information security," said Barry Steinhardt, associate
> > director and privacy expert at the American Civil Liberties
> > Union, "As a pure privacy issue, it allows for a means of
> > tracking individuals on the Net."
> > .....
> > The plan calls for Intel to put a machine-specific ID and a
> > random number generator in every processor, said sources
> > familiar with the plans.
> >
> > The random-number generator will aid e-commerce by
> > allowing PCs to encrypt data more securely, while the ID
> > numbers will allow merchants to verify a user's identity and prevent
> > stolen PCs from getting on the Internet.
>
> This only matters if Intel is the only processor available
> on the net. And thats only important in Win95 is the only
> OS on the net.
>
> With the spreading popularity of Linux and its availability
> on a wide number of CPU's that will no longer be a given.
>
> Non-intel, PCI bus compatible systems will proliferate if
> Intel starts playing games like this.
Since Intel chips has a substantial share of the market, there
is a corresponding impact. Because of the privacy issue that was
pointed out, it has disadvantage, but I don't exclude that the
benefits might outweigh. (Tracking persons is already possible
with handys anyway.)
M. K. Shen
>
> Keep crypto where it belongs -- in source code where I can
> see it. This is not about crypto. This smells like a big
> law-enforcement/licenseing grab.
>
> jim
