The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip was generally accepted by security specialists as a safe method of protecting and encrypting information. The chip is common in thousands of motherboards which power everything from notebooks to XBox 360 video game consoles. Many businesses employ the chip as a defense for keeping their private data secure and rely on it as their main encryption device. Even Microsoft’s encryption service, BitLocker, depends heavily on the chip for storing encryption codes.

Earlier this month, a specialist engineer hacked the chip and figured out a way to access its secrets. Using an Infineon chip, Christopher Tarnovsky went through a complicated procedure which broke down the hardware’s defenses and gave him access to the processing core. Breaking into the chip was a lengthy process, but one thing is clear from the hack: depending solely on hardware supported encryption is a bad idea for businesses that truly want their information to be protected.

Am I at Risk?

Tarnovsky’s accomplishment is a serious warning sign, however, the procedure used to break down the chip’s security was extremely advanced and beyond the skill of a novice hacker. The Government Computer News reports:

“Don’t think that this is easy,” Tarnovsky said. He spent six months on the project and still has unanswered questions about the chips’ operations and security. The process of reverse-engineering would cost about $200,000 commercially, but he says that now that he has the technique worked out he can access a chip’s core and its data in six or seven hours.

Tarnovsky’s current method is very difficult to copy and isn’t likely to become a mainstream way of breaking into computers. However, others are going to follow in his footsteps and will continue to build on his work. Eventually, a more efficient and affordable strategy for cracking the TPM chip will be discovered. Hackers will develop ways to break into the chip by evaluating and reworking Tarnovky’s technique. The TPM chip has been proven to be hackable and should no longer be viewed as a secure standalone for protecting information.

We’ve touched on some of the weaknesses that BitLocker had earlier; now we can add its integration and dependence on the TPM chip to our list of complaints. Even if you’re using encryption software to protect your information, you may still find yourself depending on the TPM chip. Many full disk encryption service providers offer a product built around the TPM chip; if the TPM chip of your machine is hacked, essentially, your encrypted data will no longer be safe.

How to Stay Protected

Computer protection is extremely important and the news about the TPM chip’s security flaws should be a wake-up call for businesses. Choosing data encryption software which works is critical and will help protect your organization’s future. If you’re currently using software which is heavily dependent on the TPM chip as the main stronghold, it may a good idea to start exploring other options. Not having any sort of protection is simply unacceptable and inexcusable; we’ve covered several examples where security breaches have lead to serious repercussions for businesses.

To help keep your business data protected in an effective way, explore our secure encryption software solutions. Unlike competitors, our software isn’t dependent on the TPM chip and provides an independent layer of encryption. Try a free 30-day trial now!

Further Reading
Black Hat: Engineer Cracks ‘Secure’ TPM Chip [MCPM]
Engineer shows how to crack a ’secure’ TPM chip [GCN]
Hacker extracts crypto key from TPM chip [The H Security]