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High security computing; was: Re: FrameMaker X can ONLY be activated over the internet
Subject:High security computing; was: Re: FrameMaker X can ONLY be activated over the internet From:David Neeley <dbneeley -at- gmail -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:05:27 +0200
In what now passes for pre-history, I was director of marketing and
sales for a very small company that launched the first purpose-built 486
PC. I became involved with some folks in Virginia who began to modify
our boxes so they could become certified for high-security
operations--something which is called "TEMPEST" certification:
http://www.nsa.gov/applications/ia/tempest/index.cfm
That involved, among other things, using fully shielded cables and
moving the cable attachments inside the outer metal computer case--among
many other things. At one point, a box which was running one particular
version of Windows NT received certification at level 3 (level 1 being
highest, IIRC). Note that a particular machine must be certified with
specific software; upgrade or change the software and it must be
re-certified. Nevertheless, our friends at Microsoft began to advertise
at various trade shows that "Windows NT is a TEMPEST certified operating
system"--which of course was totally untrue and nonsense to anyone who
understood the process.
That said, a top-level certified machine needed no external Faraday cage
as it simply did not radiate meaningfully.
However, a fully shielded room would be far simpler and cheaper if more
than one machine needs to be run in a secure environment.
David
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