Join Now
Interested companies are encouraged to review the Benefits of Membership and apply today!
Join NowGlossary
Unfamiliar with a term used in this section? Check the TCG Glossary of TechnicalTerms for the definition.
View Glossary
FAQs
Do the Mobile Phone use cases apply to other handheld devices?
The first set of use cases targets the products that include cellular technology. However, the specifications might be used to implement mobile security in other products.
Where does the responsibility on security reside when a security module is built into a device; can the interests of the service providers be assured?
The responsibility for security is always a shared responsibility between the security service provider and the service user. Any security module can only offer assurance for the behavior and assets within its own domain. The behavior and the assurances of a security module include the protections employed to address the particular threats that exist in a specified environment. The interests of service providers are assured to the extent that they understand the protections offered by the module and their own responsibilities for its effective application.
What will be the estimated cost of using the specification?
TCG cannot speculate about costs because the specifications are deliberately implementation agnostic. The costs mainly depend on the way the specification is implemented among volumes and environment.
Which companies are participating in the TCG Mobile Phone Work Group?
A number of companies representing handset makers, service providers, silicon providers and applications are active in the Work Group. These companies include AuthenTec, Ericsson, France Telecom, HP, IBM, Infineon, Intel, Lenovo, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, VeriSign, Vodafone, Wave Systems and many others.
Is TCG working with other standardization bodies in the mobile environment?
TCG has an active liaison program with the purpose of coordinating its open specifications with other organizations. Open, interactive discussion between different organizations overcomes any potential gaps or overlaps in standardization work. Many of the TCG Mobile Phone Work Group members also participate in other key standardization organizations, such as OMA, OMTP, 3GPP, MIPI, ITU and others. In addition to ongoing liaison by members of the organization, TCG is publishing the relevant technical materials and inviting comments and participation of other companies.
What is the TCG Trusted Server Specification?
This effort defines the architecture of a trusted server and how these servers are created, managed and maintained. The specification also provides a blueprint for communication between trusted servers and clients.
Why is the Server Specification necessary when there already are trusted clients?
TCG was founded with the goal of providing the building blocks for end-to-end trusted computing. With some 15 million trusted clients in use and millions more anticipated to be deployed in the next few years, it was logical to offer developers a complementary specification to secure the server and allow trusted communications between servers and clients.
What kinds of servers does this specification cover?
Like all TCG specifications, the server specification has been created to support a variety of platforms and architectures including x86 and Itanium architectures, MIPs, Sparc, Power and others.
What form factor will trusted servers take? Will blade servers be supported?
The specification was written to allow platform vendors to build trusted servers in all form factors, so over time it is anticipated that trusted servers would ship in all form factors, including blade servers.
How does the server specification relate to the Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs)? Is a TPM required for these servers?
Trusted servers are required to contain TPM functionality that meets the requirements of the TPM specification (1.1b or 1.2). The specification is complementary to the TPM specification and defines the behavior and requirements of a trusted server.
Will server TPMs be different from PC ones? How is TCG addressing this?
Currently, the trusted server may be designed using the same TPMs found in trusted clients. There is no reason, however, that a TPM or system vendor could not develop TPMs with higher bandwidth capabilities, as long as the interface specifications are met. In the future, TCG may add additional TPM commands to provide for additional server operational or management capabilities.
What does the TPM do in a server?
The TPM provides that same functionality as it does in a trusted client: it stores and protects digital keys, passwords and certificates. The applications built on that functionality will almost certainly be different than those on the trusted client.
Does a trusted server impact server throughput? Will more servers be required?
This will depend on the application that is built on the new trusted server features. It is assumed that early applications will not rely on the TPM for high throughput operations, but over time, as TPM performance is enhanced, more operations may be handled by the TPM, which will require the platform vendors to engineer the solution to limit any impact to server throughput.
What does the specification require for servers? How much redesign is required to incorporate Trusted Computing into future servers?
The specification communicates baseline requirements, providing server vendors with a definition that allows for efficient transition of server designs to trusted server designs. It also provides for the transition of trusted client designs to trusted server designs. Much of the work in the trusted client space can be leveraged into an X86 trusted server design, requiring minimal redesign.
When do you expect to see products incorporating the server specification?
Trusted servers have started shipping from some vendors.
Do you anticipate servers conforming to the trusted server specification to be more expensive? If so how much additional cost will be incurred?
The pricing model of trusted servers is not known but it's anticipated that additional costs will be minimal, based on the scenario of trusted clients.
Will trusted servers require new or additional management tools and services? Will trusted servers be compatible with today’s applications?
There will certainly be new tools to manage the security capabilities of trusted servers. Trusted servers will be compatible with today's applications, although to take full advantage of the new security features, updated applications will most likely be necessary.
Can IT managers deploy a mix of trusted and non-trusted servers?
Yes. As with trusted clients, we anticipate most organizations will deploy a few trusted servers initially then gradually switch as they replace older systems.
What are some of the anticipated uses for a trusted server?
The TCG trusted server specification provides for use cases including:
Asset management
Configuration management
Data migration and back-up
Distributed trusted computing
Document management
Financial transactions
Management of endpoint integrity and network access control
User and platform authentication
What are some examples of these uses for trusted servers?
One is ensuring a trusted client is connecting to the intended server. The specification also provides for a usage model in which the server is verified to meet minimum standards before being allowed to perform sensitive transactions. Another example: ensuring that data stored on servers is sealed (using a TPM based on the 1.2 specification) to protect it from unauthorized access.