US COMPUTER SECURITY DISCUSSION ON FUTURE PLANS FOR INDUSTRYInternet Week > Trusted Computing > Trusted Computing: 'Maligned by Misrepresentations and Creative Fabrications' > February 5, 2004Trusted Computing: 'Maligned by Misrepresentations and Creative Fabrications'

By Rob Enderle, the Enderle Group

I sit on the Advisory Committee for the Trusted Computing Group; it is a voluntary and uncompensated position. The effort is broadly supported by the international manufacturers of personal computers, but maligned by misrepresentation and creative fabrications.

We exist in an increasingly hostile world. Companies and governments need every tool they can get their hands on to protect themselves against computer attacks.

The PC is a relatively exposed device in this regard, and laptop computers particularly so. They can be compromised electronically, and even if they are electronically secure, they can be compromised physically--and much of the security can be overcome by simply removing the hard drive and placing it in another computer. Over the last year there have been a number of instances of laptop theft where credit card information was compromised with embarrassing results.

If that doesn't make you sleep less soundly a US congressional report last year identified stolen laptops as a source for terrorist threat at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (where they do nuclear weapons research).

Granted, in most of these cases, it was negligence that got the laptop stolen in the first place, and there are resources to help you train your employees on how to not make stupid mistakes. One such is Corporate Travel Safety.com.