Re:The GPU, not the TPM, is the root of hardware DRM
by fc417fc802 on Thursday January 02, 2025 @05:57PM
(#42579940)
I am fully aware of what a TPM is. I was speaking about trusted computing - ie the "general purpose attestation capability" that you referred to above.
As you say, a TPM alone can't do much of anything and doesn't pose much of a threat. Of course expanding the acronym - Trusted Platform Module - is a bit of a giveaway. They were always fully intended to serve as the root of trust for much more nefarious things.
Re:The GPU, not the TPM, is the root of hardware DRM
by lxgr on Thursday January 02, 2025 @06:04PM
(#42580001)
People keep saying that, yet the only thing I’ve ever seen TPMs used for is full disk encryption and user authentication.
Conversely, DRM is alive and well on almost universally TPM-less devices.
By the way, all of your comments in this thread end up dead – I had to vouch for them to be able to answer. Not sure what’s up with that.
No, this is a misunderstanding of what a TPM is.
A TPM is a secure element inside your computer, similar to the chip running your credit and debit card. That's it. Without you using it (i.e. your OS or an application you installed asking it to do something), it's exactly as dangerous as a blank chip card in your house that you don't use and didn't open any account for.
If you don't want anybody to talk to it, don't install applications or OSes on your computer that do things you don't want. You have full control over that! Not running software that's not acting in your own best interests is generally good practice anyway, TPM or no TPM.
> [...] a small dedicated hardware element for signing fingerprints is all that's ever been required [...]
You might be happy to hear that that's exactly what a TPM is, then!