Do You Know? A Few Notes on Trusted Computing Out in the World
Just today, we here at Trusted Computing Group (TCG) received yet another question about how many Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs) have been shipped. We get this question a lot; as a matter of fact, we get a lot of other similar questions about how TCG's specifications have spread out into products and applications.
Let's address the TPM question first. It's a bit challenging, because there is no way for us or any other group to accurately count each chip that is made and shipped. That is something the vendors of these devices do, and because of competitive, regulatory and other reasons, they don't typically break out TPM chip shipments. Another reason this question is challenging is that some companies support the TPM specifications in other kinds of devices, such as chipsets, so they might not report that they are offering a specific TPM.
In spite of all these factors, we do have some information that can help answer the question. Several years ago, the smart folks at IDC put together some forecasts which have been informally verified by the major manufacturers of TPM chips and chipsets. By examining the PC and server shipments, along with boards and non-PC devices that include the TPM, we can estimate that at least 500 million TPMs have been shipped.
Besides enterprise-class PCs and some servers, where are these TPMs? The answer is, anywhere where security is important, which is most any computing device! We have heard of TPMs in electronic gaming devices, various kiosks, set-top boxes and industrial automation and control equipment. Even a developer platform created by Google recently contains the TPM. Information about some of these assorted applications can be found by following these links:
Next week, we will take a look at some other frequently-asked questions about Trusted Computing Group and its specifications.
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