 |
» |
|
| |
 |
| |
Research opportunities |
|
|
How can enterprises make sure their all-important information technology infrastructures are behaving as they should?
How can IT administrators determine whether particular computers or other mobile devices belong on their networks -- especially those attempting to access information remotely? How can they ensure that their systems are running only legitimate, up-to-date software and exchanging only authorized information? How can they minimize damage from viruses and other external threats?
Above all, how can they determine whether everything is running correctly and reliably? What kind of effective, enforceable policies can they use to prevent, detect and address problems?
Our scientists are answering those and other key questions through their ongoing research into trusted infrastructures.
Trusted infrastructures comprise platforms, networks and services with built-in security capabilities and mechanisms that provide users and administrators with strong assurances that their operation can be relied upon. For example, next-generation data centers will need built-in support for confidentiality, integrity and auditing in a way that can be trusted and relied upon by all parties in the shared infrastructure.
|
|
|
Our approach |
|
|
Rather than try to close every potential security loophole, we focus on developing technical mechanisms to provide assurance that infrastructures can be trusted. A trusted infrastructure behaves as its IT teams expect and provides accurate and verifiable information about itself. That kind of assurance is critical to help IT administrators retain control over, and have strong confidence in, increasingly distributed networks
|
|
Research focus |
|
|
|
Our research in this area includes work on trusted computing and trusted virtualization, as well as a virus-safe computing initiative.
The underlying goal for all our work: creating ways to make systems both safer and simpler to use.
|
|
|
|
Current work |
|
|
In the area of trusted computing, HP Labs is exploring how mass-market hardware mechanisms allow users and organizations to validate the correctness of their equipment. Among other activities, we chair the technical oversight committee for the Trusted Computing Group, a nonprofit organization developing open standards for hardware-enabled trusted computing and security.
Our trusted virtualization work focuses on building secure systems that are both more trustworthy and easier to manage. Virtualization technology allows multiple operating systems to operate on the same computer hardware, isolated from and running independently of each other.
This provides compartmentalizing capabilities that enable mandatory controls around individual operating systems; these controls can be used to efficiently implement, distribute and manage security policies in the enterprise.
The virus-safe computing initiative also focuses on trusted computing, but at the end-user level. Among other efforts, we've made HP's Halo video-collaboration solution safer and easier to use.
We have developed a virus-safe environment for Windows XP that limits the damage a virus can cause, and we're investigating methods to make password ‘phishing' and other forms of online fraud and identity theft more difficult. We are also working on making Web Services security more manageable. |
|
Technical contributions |
|
|
Many HP products reflect our research. HP's ProtectTools Client Security solutions for desktop, notebook and workstation PCs contain trusted-computing technology that evolved from our work, while the anti-phishing toolbar in the HP Atalla Security Products line resulted from the virus-safe computing work.
But our efforts extend well beyond our own company. For example, HP handles technical management for the Open Trusted Computing Consortium , a European Union-backed group that is combining trusted computing and virtualization technologies to support more secure, reliable and manageable infrastructures. |
|
|
|
Security & compliance |
|
|
|
|
Printable version
