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Comment by izacus | Hacker News Reader

> Why not tell us more about the requirements for hardware certification?

Err, it's actually pretty simple: the token/certificate representing your ID (or credit card, or anything really) cannot be exfiltrated by userspace or installed kernel space apps or intercepted on the way to TPM when issued. And it cannot be duplicated.

It's the same set of requirements that are put on credit card smart chips and biometric chips in EU IDs and Passports (which are essentially also TPMs).

But sure, it's a all an evil conspiracy against general purpose computing. And they're all out to get ya. Now smash that downvote for a vote against the evil establishment.

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>Err, it's actually pretty simple: the token/certificate representing your ID (or credit card, or anything really) cannot be exfiltrated by userspace or installed kernel space apps or intercepted on the way to TPM when issued. And it cannot be duplicated.

So you need a proprietary browser running on a proprietary OS (both userspace and the kernel) with proprietary TPM hardware. You just proved the point. No more Linux.

> cannot be exfiltrated by userspace or installed kernel space apps or intercepted on the way to TPM

So it must be secure against the user, as expected.

Preventing the user from "tampering" with the token means carving out a section of the machine and putting it out of his reach. You just created a government embassy on the user's machine. There's no telling what it will be abused for, and there's no escape.

> But sure, it's a all an evil conspiracy against general purpose computing.

You just advocated for putting an inescapable persisent cryptographic government ID on everybody's computers. This is the literal implementation of the surveillance state. Everything you do online, this token gets sent. It's the end of anonymity. Not even Tor gets around this.

Yes, that's what a TPM or smart card chip in your ID/Passport does.

Prevents tampering even by the "user".

I have advocated nothing of the sort you're accusing me of. Please leave your strawman at home.

Having a physical card fallback here is a necessity and nothing in these proposals shows that the physical card ID is going away.

> Having a physical card fallback here is a necessity and nothing in these proposals shows that the physical card ID is going away.

It doesn't have to go away. Once the capability is there, they can and probably will simply make it mandatory to even so much as get an internet connection from your ISP. No unbreakable ID chip? No internet for you.

The "fallback card" is exactly what added the necessary friction that prevented everything under the sun from demanding these sorts of verifications out of everybody alive.

It was somewhat tolerable when it was just a financial transaction. It's still highly problematic given that AML/KYC laws are just the financial arm of global warrantless mass surveillance, but at least it was contained to the financial domain and it was possible to avoid credit cards and use cash instead. Putting this stuff in every computer kicks it up into 1984 territory by allowing tracking of anyone posting wrongthink online.

In most EU states you already need to provide ID to establish internet service, so what are you on about man?

ID is required only for the person requesting it to be installed (or SIM card subscriber), not for everyone using it.

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