Re: Intel microcode fixes [OFF-TOPIC]

H. Peter Anvin (hpa@transmeta.com)
13 Dec 1998 23:40:58 GMT

Followup to: <Pine.LNX.4.05.9811261742170.8986-100000@bean.xtdnet.nl>
By author: Paul Wouters <paul@xtdnet.nl>
In newsgroup: linux.dev.kernel
>
> > Right. Another reassurance: The docs claim that the CPU verifies that
> > the author of the microcode upgrade is "intel". This microcode upgrade
> > is refused if it doesn't pass the authentification test.
>
> But that can't be cryptographicaly strong, because then they couldn't sell
> the P6's in europe :) Maybe it needs to start with "INT" :)
>

You can export authentication software. You can export encryption
*hardware* if the encryption is not general-purpose (i.e. the user
can't use it to encrypt stuff.) Intel would trivially get a license
to export the P6.

-hpa

-- 
    PGP: 2047/2A960705 BA 03 D3 2C 14 A8 A8 BD  1E DF FE 69 EE 35 BD 74
    See http://www.zytor.com/~hpa/ for web page and full PGP public key
        I am Bahá'í -- ask me about it or see http://www.bahai.org/
   "To love another person is to see the face of God." -- Les Misérables


-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/