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Every time I hear about the XBox's platform security, I think back to this talk [1] about how Microsoft protected the XBox One. A lot of it boils down to clear

Every time I hear about the XBox's platform security, I think back to this talk [1] about how Microsoft protected the XBox One. A lot of it boils down to clear requirements and good engineering, and many of these technologies are now showing up via Project Pluton. [1] https://www.platformsecuritysummit.com/2019/speaker/chen/ https://www.platformsecuritysummit.com/2019/speaker/chen/

airstrike 4y ago
This is what I found on "Project Pluton" https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2020/11/17/meet-the-microsoft-pluton-processor-the-security-chip-designed-for-the-future-of-windows-pcs/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2020/11/17/mee...
- transpute 4y ago
  There was a PSEC 2019 talk on Azure Sphere (IoT), with some details on Pluton security features and the Microsoft Linux hardened kernel based on OpenEmbedded/Yocto. Briefly mentioned is Microsoft's QEMU emulation of Pluton for CI/CD and their segmented architecture for delivery of 10 years of Linux security updates to the device, even if the IoT vendor goes out of business leaving the application firmware unmaintained. https://www.platformsecuritysummit.com/2019/speaker/seay/ https://www.platformsecuritysummit.com/2019/speaker/seay/ (click Hardware tag to seek video to the Pluton section) IEEE paper (2021, paywall) on Pluton, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9512305 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9512305
userbinator 4y ago
and many of these technologies are now showing up via Project Pluton. More awareness needs to be made of how this will have a devestating impact on end-user freedom. They're attacking the PC, one of the last holdouts of general-purpose computing freedom. Remote attestation will make it so you "can" technically run your own hardware and software (and that's what the FUD-spreaders will always say), but you'll be denied access to lots of, increasingly online, services. Edit: nice, downvotes. Hello corpo-authoritarians, we know what's up :-)
- RandomBK 4y ago
  Apple (and to a lesser extent Android) have already gone this route, and Windows 11 originally wanted to push _hard_ on enforcing the presence of more platform security. DRM schemes already perform remote attestation before you can stream 4K Netflix. Linux and Open Source may be one of the last remaining barriers to this becoming widespread. It's one of the main reasons I whole-heartedly support Valve and their Steam Deck ambitions, and encourage everyone to do the same. Money trumps everything else, so as long as the money to be made from supporting SteamOS > money thought to be saved from piracy, I believe we can still thwart this.
  - transpute 4y ago
    > DRM schemes already perform remote attestation before you can stream 4K Netflix. On Intel clients, this is done via the Management Engine, bypassing both the CPU and operating system, as the ME can control display output.
    - SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
      Is there any mechanism for it to validate that the thing connected to the display output is an unmodified monitor which also implements DRM? Otherwise it would be almost trivial to have a device with HDMI-in that gets a pixel perfect feed of the protected stream.
      - userbinator 4y ago
        Yes, that's called HDCP. The master key was cracked long ago for older versions.
        toast0 4y ago
        For new versions, you can get a converter; hdcp 2.2 -> hdcp 1.4 and then use whatevee breakage on 1.4. So it's only effective if you don't search.

airstrike 4y ago

This is what I found on "Project Pluton" https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2020/11/17/meet-the-microsoft-pluton-processor-the-security-chip-designed-for-the-future-of-windows-pcs/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2020/11/17/mee...

transpute 4y ago
There was a PSEC 2019 talk on Azure Sphere (IoT), with some details on Pluton security features and the Microsoft Linux hardened kernel based on OpenEmbedded/Yocto. Briefly mentioned is Microsoft's QEMU emulation of Pluton for CI/CD and their segmented architecture for delivery of 10 years of Linux security updates to the device, even if the IoT vendor goes out of business leaving the application firmware unmaintained. https://www.platformsecuritysummit.com/2019/speaker/seay/ https://www.platformsecuritysummit.com/2019/speaker/seay/ (click Hardware tag to seek video to the Pluton section) IEEE paper (2021, paywall) on Pluton, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9512305 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9512305

userbinator 4y ago

and many of these technologies are now showing up via Project Pluton. More awareness needs to be made of how this will have a devestating impact on end-user freedom. They're attacking the PC, one of the last holdouts of general-purpose computing freedom. Remote attestation will make it so you "can" technically run your own hardware and software (and that's what the FUD-spreaders will always say), but you'll be denied access to lots of, increasingly online, services. Edit: nice, downvotes. Hello corpo-authoritarians, we know what's up :-)

RandomBK 4y ago
Apple (and to a lesser extent Android) have already gone this route, and Windows 11 originally wanted to push _hard_ on enforcing the presence of more platform security. DRM schemes already perform remote attestation before you can stream 4K Netflix. Linux and Open Source may be one of the last remaining barriers to this becoming widespread. It's one of the main reasons I whole-heartedly support Valve and their Steam Deck ambitions, and encourage everyone to do the same. Money trumps everything else, so as long as the money to be made from supporting SteamOS > money thought to be saved from piracy, I believe we can still thwart this.
- transpute 4y ago
  > DRM schemes already perform remote attestation before you can stream 4K Netflix. On Intel clients, this is done via the Management Engine, bypassing both the CPU and operating system, as the ME can control display output.
  - SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
    Is there any mechanism for it to validate that the thing connected to the display output is an unmodified monitor which also implements DRM? Otherwise it would be almost trivial to have a device with HDMI-in that gets a pixel perfect feed of the protected stream.
    - userbinator 4y ago
      Yes, that's called HDCP. The master key was cracked long ago for older versions.
      - toast0 4y ago
        For new versions, you can get a converter; hdcp 2.2 -> hdcp 1.4 and then use whatevee breakage on 1.4. So it's only effective if you don't search.