Intel believes that malacious codes, viruses and other security threats may become a worry of the past. Inte's R&D team is currently working on Trusted Execution Technlogy, previously known as LaGrande. Trusted Execution Technology or TXT will use hardware keys and subsystems to control what part of a computer's resources can be accessed and who or what will be granted or denied access.
Going beyond the NX bit, or the Non-execution bit that is currently enabled inside recent processors from both AMD and Intel, TXT will bring a whole new dimension of security to PCs. TXT will also be able to work in a virtualized environment on systems with Intel's VT technology. Guest operating systems will be able to take advantage of features on a TXT-enabled platform.
Intel will also provide a mechanism called Attestation for TXT, which is a self-monitoring component that ensures that the TXT system was enabled properly. Attestation will provide monitoring, as well as applications running in protected space.
Processors will have split execution spaces called partitions, similar to the concept of partitions on a hard drive. These partitions can be labeled as protected or non-protected. Standard partitions, those that are not protected, are now referred to as "legacy" partitions. A TXT-enabled processor will be able to have both a legacy and protected partition coexist together. Chipsets will also be designed with TXT technology. According to Intel, every part of a TXT-enabled platform will have the technology built in so that every pathway that is traversed by data will be able to offer a high level of security. With TXT, Intel is taking a no-compromise approach to securing data. All components of a system will be protected:
->Processor execution memory
->Processor event handling
->System memory
->Memory and chipset paths
->Storage subsystems
->Human input devices
->Graphics output
