Infineon security chips protect Microsoft Surface devices
Emphasising hardware based security to protect sensitive user data stored on connected devices, Microsoft has integrated OPTIGA TPMs (Trusted Platform Modules) from Infineon Technologies into its latest personal computing devices (including the new Surface Pro 4 tablet and the Surface Book, the first Microsoft branded laptop).
TPMs are dedicated security chips to store sensitive data such as keys, certificates and passwords separated from the main processor. This increases protection of the computing device from unauthorised access, manipulation and data theft. For example, the key and password of the Microsoft BitLocker Drive Encryption application are securely stored inside the TPM.
Microsoft’s personal computing devices rely on the OPTIGA TPM SLB 9665, the industry’s first certified security controller based on the latest TPM 2.0 standard. This standard was defined by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG), an international standardisation group with members such as Intel and Google. TPM 2.0 specifications are based on most advanced cryptography and security mechanisms. In addition, they particularly address mobile computing such as notebooks and tablets as well as IoT devices with special security requirements.