Is Intel's New CPU Identification For Data Security Only A Marketing Gag?

Straight after I read about Intel's new plans to ensure higher data security over the Internet for e-commerce by implementing a identification number into their upcoming CPUs starting with Pentium III, I felt forced to consult Kim Schmitz, CEO of Data Protect GmbH , a business particularly focussed on data security. Data Protect is currently building up the introduction of their very own authentication procedure, known under the name 'Dapromas '. Kim Schmitz and his team has a known expertise in this matter, he as well as the majority of his employees are former hackers. When I told him about Intel's new plan, he had nothing more than a gentle laugh left over for it. Authenticating yourself with your computer system is a highly dangerous procedure. It may not be known to most of you, but the weakest systems against hacker attacks are systems of end users that are connected to the Internet. Servers are often protected more or less professionally, systems of Internet surfers are wide open to any attack however, and in the most cases the user would never even notice it. The hacker could access any e-commerce business directly from the platform of an end user, obviously using the CPU identification of the system of this user. Thus the so-called 'trusted, connected PC' is light years from safe or secure, as a matter of fact it opens hackers a completely new dimension.

This leads to the conclusion that Intel came up with this new idea for no other reason than for marketing. Doesn't it sound nice that you can make your system a 'trusted, connected PC' by simply dropping a Pentium III CPU into it? Wouldn't AMD's, IDT's or TransMeta's CPUs without this beautiful identification gimmick look as if they are 'insecure CPUs'? Data security takes a lot more than a half-baked solution as the identification number of future Intel CPUs, the world's hackers are more powerful than most people realize and their power increases every day whilst more and more computer get connected. If we want to avoid that hackers abuse our information, then we should not jump on Intel's new bandwagon, we should give them a strong signal of disparagement instead.

Kim Schmitz did me the favor and wrote up a little piece about Intel's new idea for me, although it's his 25th birthday today.