The platform consists of a set of definitions of hardware and software components that can be constructed to build devices offering different levels of security. It builds on well-established, strong security techniques and applies them to the hardware and software architectures to define a trusted execution environment that protects the device at boot time and during runtime.
These components function together to limit the potential damage from malicious applications and to enable a rich set of security services. In addition, the Trusted Mobile Platform has defined a protocol that allows the security state of a device to be shared with other devices in the network, enabling device level trust to be extended into the larger network.
"The Trusted Mobile Platform provides a new foundation for mobile devices," said Takanori Utano, executive vice president and chief technology officer of NTT DoCoMo Inc. "The goal of our joint research was to provide an open and secure architecture for future wireless data services."
"This collaboration directly enhances handheld architectures to provide the trusted capabilities vital for widespread adoption of mobile commerce and enterprise usage," said Sean Maloney, Intel executive vice president and general manager of Intel's Communications Group.
"Mobile security is more than just protecting against new viruses, worms and attacks. It's about protecting critical business assets and information," said Alistair Rennie, vice president, Sales and Marketing, IBM Pervasive Computing. "IBM is working to bring security specifications, such as the Trusted Mobile Platform, to standards bodies, with the hope security will become more embedded across a broad range of business systems."
The Trusted Mobile Platform specification incorporates the latest security technologies and controls. Through tamper-resistant modules and by enabling domain separation, a trusted platform will be able to protect data from potential viruses spreading from one application to the next. In addition, the authorization and management protocols provide companies with higher levels of security for wireless delivery of new software to employees.
Each company contributed unique and valuable skills to the collaboration. NTT DoCoMo brings the requirements for platform integrity and security based on its knowledge of wireless networks. Intel brings its knowledge of silicon designs and expertise in designing wireless devices. IBM is contributing its vast experience in business security and pervasive computing.
