Trusted Computing Platforms: TCPA Technology in Context

Dedicated Trusted States

When performing tasks on particularly sensitive data, it may be preferable that the platform restricts itself to the operations that are strictly necessary for the current task. Particular dedicated states could exist for particular tasks, each state optimized for that particular task, and containing the minimum amount of functionality to perform that task. Such states would give the maximum confidence to users that sensitive data is protected while that data is being manipulated. In order to identify dedicated states with a high degree of confidence, a large number of platform events must be incorporated into PCRs. This has the disadvantage that even benign alterations to a dedicated state would alter the PCRs that describe ...