
6.857 Computer and Network Security
October 22, 2002
Lecture Notes 13 : Palladium, Zero Knowledge
Lecturer: Ron Rivest
Scribe: Baratz/Gavacs/Sen/Sudan
[These are the initial scribe notes. The final version will appear with updated figures. Namely, the
figures will have larger fonts.]
1
Outline
- Palladium discussion
- Zero Knowledge Proofs
2
Palladium discussion
Prof. Rivest
: What did people like / dislike about Palladium
Student
: I think it’s interesting to think about the various other organizations that are affecting
Palladium, like Hollywood, etc.
Student
: I don’t think Palladium is going to fly. They haven’t really come up with a killer-app and
the cost is going to be too high. What is the killer app Movie and music distribution
Prof. Rivest
: Could movie distribution be the killer app That really seems to be their driving
motivation.
Student
: It seems as though the only way they can justify this initiative is if they envision PCs
becoming the center of a home theater system. Using PCs to control DVD players, TVs, etc.
Prof. Rivest
: A very useful way of thinking about it is as a virtual embedded set top box.
Student
: How can they use this system for DRM if it isn’t physically tamper-resistant Maybe due
to the DMCA it would be illegal to install dual-ported memory. Hardware attacks could probably
be carried out for hundreds of dollars or less. A movie could be extracted and then distributed.
Prof. Rivest
: Besides DRM, what could this be used for
Student
: Possibly subscription services, software licensing, or piracy control.
Student
: The whole TCPA framework provides a lot of functionality to enterprises.
Student
: It seems as though the right-hand side of Palladium won’t really be used that much and
isn’t robust enough to run complete applications like Word, etc.
Prof. Rivest
: This reminds me of how we drew the distinction between user and kernel space, and
then with Microsoft operating systems and plug-and-play people have been able to insert drivers,
etc. into kernel space. Now all they’ve done is draw another line and are daring outsiders to cross
that line. After a while all sorts of code will have found its way into the Palladium zone and then
what do we do Draw another line and make Palladium 2
0
May be freely reproduced for educational or personal use.
1