LOS ANGELES -- In addition to showing off its next-generation Longhorn operating system this week, Microsoft has for the first time handed out code that underlies its closely watched Next-Generation Secure Computing Base security technology.
The company also further narrowed its focus for NGSCB, previously known by its Palladium code name. The first version of the hardware-based security technology will be for specific business applications only, not consumer software.
Early Code
Attendees at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference here received a developer preview of NGSCB. Developers can use this preview to get a feel of what it is like to develop an application that uses NGSCB security.
"This is the first code that we have put out there. It is very early stuff," says Mario Juarez, a product manager at Microsoft's Security Business Unit. "View it as an educational opportunity."
Developers who write code based on the preview get no guarantees that their code will actually work when NGSCB version 1 ships as part of Longhorn, Juarez adds.
NGSCB is a combination of hardware and software that creates a second operating environment within a PC that is meant to protect the system from malicious code. As part of its protection, it provides secure connections between applications, peripheral hardware, memory, and storage. NGSCB will make its debut as part of Longhorn, the code name for the next version of Windows, which is expected to ship in 2006.
Microsoft is working with software makers, system integrators, and large customers in the financial services, health care, and government areas to create business applications that use NGSCB, Juarez says. These applications include document signing, secure instant messaging, viewing secure data, and secure e-mail, he adds.
Consumer Support Later
In the past, Microsoft has pitched NGSCB as an important technology for consumers, as well. It would be part of the cure for the seemingly endless streams of viruses, worms, and security bugs that hit consumer PCs.
"We're not going to have a consumer story until version two of NGSCB," says Juarez. No schedule has been set for the release of version two.
Microsoft says the technology could be a boon for PC users, though critics argue that it is merely a way to deliver strong digital rights management technology that will curtail users' ability to control their own PCs and that could erode fair-use rights in regards to digital music and movie files.
NGSCB includes a new software component for Windows called a "nexus," and a chip called the Security Support Component that can perform cryptographic operations. NGSCB also requires changes to a PC's processor, chip set, video, and input hardware, Microsoft has said. Because of the hardware requirements, users will have to buy a new PC to take advantage of NGSCB.