Bootstrapping Trust in a "Trusted" Platform

For the last few years, many commodity computers have come equipped with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Existing research shows that the TPM can be used to establish trust in the software executing on a computer. However, at present, there is no standard mechanism for establishing trust in the TPM on a particular machine. Indeed, any straightforward approach falls victim to a cuckoo attack. In this work, we propose a formal model for establishing trust in a platform. The model reveals the cuckoo attack problem and suggests potential solutions. Unfortunately, no instantiation of these solutions is fully satisfying, and hence, we pose the development of a fully satisfactory solution as an open question to the community.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: USS
• Authors: Bryan Parno
• Keywords: Approach Falls Victim, Cuckoo Attack, Operating System, Trusted Platform Module, USS 2008