OLD Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Trusted Computing?
- Although definitions vary between commentators, trusted computing can be broadly thought of as a technology that ensures that information cannot be accessed unless the computer user's system is operating as expected and has not been tampered with. It is expected that trusted computing systems will be embedded in the actual computer hardware, which is expected to make them far less susceptible to circumvention, compared with existing software-based protection mechanisms.
- The most widely promoted trusted computing system involves the use of an element called the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a specialised chip containing the cryptographic keys, access to protected storage and the functions to measure and attest to the computer's integrity and trustworthiness.
- What is Digital Rights Management?
- Digital rights management (DRM) is a set of technologies designed to apply and enforce persistent access restrictions to digital information, for example, as a means of protecting intellectual property. DRM can regulate the types of actions that can be done with information (for example, view, print, copy or modify) and who can take these actions, and the time frame in which that information remains accessible.
- DRM typically works by encrypting information, so that it can only be accessed by a person with a digital 'key', used in combination with software that will ‘respect’ the digital rights and restrictions associated with the information.
- Why are Trusted Computing and DRM being dealt with together?
- Although trusted computing and DRM are distinctly different technologies, they present similar risks to the integrity of government-held information, and will have the potential to mutually reinforce each other. DRM schemes have generally been fairly easy to circumvent, but when reinforced with trusted computing technologies, they may well become impractical if not impossible to circumvent. Given this anticipated convergence of the two technologies, the New Zealand Government’s Principles and Policies treat them as a single, interacting group of technologies.
- Where can I get a copy of the Principles and Policies?
- The Principles and Policies, and other supporting material, are available at: www.e.govt.nz/policy/tc-and-drm/principles-policies-06/
