Recovery?
So what happens if you're using the chipset-based encryption to encrypt all files on your hard drive, and then your motherboard craps out? Is there any way to recover the files from your drive, or are you SOL?
Intel's next-generation 'Eaglelake' chipset family, due for release next year, will feature a built-in data protection engine with the ability to encrypt all the files on your hard drive, the chip giant announced this week. It calls the engine 'Danbury'. Together with an chipset-integrated Trusted Platform Module, Danbury …
Is Intel really building an entire platform for the tin-foil hat crowd? There can't be that many of them.
I can see why you might want to encrypt your entire drive, but if your mobo goes bad....
Marketing / politics work better if you can convince the people that they are getting security, not losing their rights.
"It'll be left to software to provide a front end to all this for the user, Intel said, presumably through utilities and the operating system."
Translation: We have already released the SDK to the studios.
The MS helpforums are peppered with desparate pleas from users's who've turned-on EFS while not understanding it properly, and lost all their data.
This is potentially much worse, it could for example lead to a situation where a simple mobo replacement (with identical model) means all the data on the HD is lost. Have Intel considered their responsibility to their resellers here? Such a situation is simply not acceptable, repair-facilities HAVE to be able to replace defective parts with identical components, without this resulting in a disaster. If they cannot do this, then effectively the computer's warranty is meaningless.
Encryption is just a technology, so much more is needed to 'secure' something. Encryption alone is a combination lock looking for a safe. Admittedly this will be an impressive combination lock but still the rest of the architecture needs to be secured somewhat before it gets into tinfoil hat territory.