On Mon, 2021-07-05 at 10:29 +0900, Stephen J. Turnbull wrote: > Patrick O'Callaghan writes: > > > In the case of Windows 11 under a VM, as you say the software TPM > can do > > what it likes. In effect, there is no more guarantee than with a > system > > without a TPM and the message that Windows 11 can only be used > where a TPM > > provides a trust base might give a false sense of security. > > That depends on the implementation of the virtual TPM. Although from > what I'm reading it shouldn't transparently virtualize the hardware > TPM (if present), the hardware TPM can be used to provide a trust > root > for the virtual TPM, which can then attest to the VM. I would assume > that to really trust any system, you'd need to have out-of-band > knowledge of the TPM's identity, whether hardware or software. It's > true that there's more room for malware to wedge itself in in this > setup, but in theory it should work. >
I think much depends on what the TPM is used for. Certainly if the user takes care not to subvert the intention, it can reasonably be used to ensure that only trusted software is run. OTOH, I think one application of TPM (at least when originally proposed) was to prevent the user from bypassing DRM, in which case the trust goes in the other direction and the situation is different. > As for "false sense of security", that has been a Microsoft business > model at least since they trumpeted "Orange Book Level C" security > (the highest you can get without physically securing the device) for > Windows NT in the 1990s -- which certification was invalid if you > changed the physical configuration of the device (insert floppy!), > connect to a network, or install software. > > Security is hard, the weakest link is often your personnel, you > shouldn't say you care about security unless you have a specialist > auditing your systems, and any other generic statements about > security are marketing drivel. ;-) Absolutely. poc _______________________________________________ users mailing list -- users@lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe send an email to users-le...@lists.fedoraproject.org Fedora Code of Conduct: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/ List Guidelines: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines List Archives: https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/users@lists.fedoraproject.org Do not reply to spam on the list, report it: https://pagure.io/fedora-infrastructure
