NGSCB: A trusted open system

Abstract

We describe Microsoft's Next Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB). The system provides high assurance computing in a manner consistent with the commercial requirements of mass market systems. This poses a number of challenges and we describe the system architecture we have used to overcome them. We pay particular attention to reducing the trusted computing base to a small and manageable size. This includes operating the system without trusting the BIOS, most devices and device drivers and the bulk of the code of mass market operating systems. Furthermore, we seek to strengthen access control and network authentication in mass market systems by authenticating executable code at all system layers. We have implemented a prototype of the system and expect the full system to be mass deployed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004.