Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

[bbigtim]

awk/Addendum

I agree with your excellent summary, but I think it would helpful to augment it a bit. There is a third model -- the discrete security co-processor. Even NGSCB will not be as secure as use of a discrete security co-processor like the Embassy chips which were developed by Wave. However, while use of a discrete security co-processor as the TPM could significantly harden security on a TCG compliant device right now, I think it is unlikely that discrete security co-processors will be included on the motherboard of NGSCB equipped computers. TPMs are likely to be updated to add additional programmability and features, but the architecture selected by Microsoft reduces the likelihood TPMs will be augmented to provide for internal execution of secure code.

I do think that we may still see motherboard adoption of discrete security co-processors for special military or intelligence applications. I think it is likely we will also see less powerful co-processors used in keyboards and smart-card readers to protect data before it reaches the OS.