Facing up to virtual reality at InfoSec World 2020

In light of the global health crisis, many events due to take place have been either cancelled or postponed. Presenting a golden opportunity, virtual booth experiences have become the centre of attention, enabling businesses to present product ranges in the form of an interactive online experience.

At InfoSec World 2020, Trusted Computing Group (TCG) was among the companies taking advantage of its new virtual set-up to showcase the latest security technologies for our new ultra-connected world.

Overcoming the challenge of automation

Among the live demonstrations presented was how secure technologies such as the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and Self Encrypting Drives (SEDs) are used in storage devices, PCs, mobile phones, and various IoT applications to enable rapid recovery in the event of vulnerabilities and attacks.

One of the main demonstrations – presented by Steve Hanna of TCG’s Technical Committee – was on the topic of building automation. Automation, and the connection to the Internet it relies on, brings new security threats and challenges. For example, buildings today have networked lighting, heating and security systems. By hooking these systems up to an essential monitoring service, heat and lighting are automatically adjusted to address usage and security is centrally monitored to detect break-ins. Unfortunately, criminals are becoming more advanced with their attacks to exploit vulnerabilities, such as through a camera.

Security showcase

Cisco and Infineon created a joint demonstration video in the TCG booth to showcase strong security methods for the Internet of Things (IoT). In the demonstration, Cisco provided a gateway router which is widely used in commercial buildings to enable the remote management of heat lighting and security. Following this, the team connected the router to a security camera with an Infineon Trusted Platform Module (TPM) implemented. The router uses the TPM security chip on the camera to verify that the camera hasn’t been hacked or replaced. The management server also checks the router in a similar manner.

As a result, Steve highlighted that operators could use a web browser to remotely monitor the video on the camera and check the health of the building automation system. Customers benefit because their IoT devices are safe and reliable, with service providers creating brand and revenue protection, reliability, and reduced maintenance costs.

Solutions for every scenario

Steve was joined by other TCG members from Infineon Technologies and John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab to showcase how trusted computing technologies are being implemented today. A range of TCG videos and documents were available to view in the virtual booth, including:

• A Brief Introduction to TPM 2.0 - This document reveals more about the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) standard, it defines a hardware root of trust widely accepted as more secure than software.
• ARMR Ransomware Protection and Recovery with Opal Drives – This document discusses Trusted Computing Group’s Opal standard, which creates self-protecting, encrypted hard drives, with read-only operations.
• Guidance for Security IoT Using TCG Technology - This document describes typical IoT security use cases and provides guidance for applying TCG technology to those use cases.
• IoT Security Architect Guide – This document guides IoT architects as they develop appropriate security controls to manage or reduce the risks.
• Security Network Equipment Architect Guide – This document highlights how network equipment is subject to the same types of attacks and threats as PCs, servers and the network itself.

There was also an option to chat live to the TCG team individually. Steve Hanna, Patrick Carrier and Russell Fink remained at hand to answer any questions from the booth visitors.

If you are interested in finding out more about TCG , please contact tcg@proactive-pr.com.