Security and privacy are two of the most important -- and difficult -- issues facing the computer industry. Improving the ability of software and hardware to protect the integrity of digital information and the privacy of computer users has become a critical focus for both software developers and hardware manufacturers. Last June, Microsoft introduced a new security technology, code-named "Palladium" at the time, that is designed to provide the foundation for a new approach to security and privacy in Windows. Now known as the Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) for Windows, this technology utilizes an innovative hardware and software design to protect against malicious software in order to enhance privacy, security, and system integrity and help insure that software acts in a way that customers can rely on.

In a feature article published on PressPass last July, Microsoft NGSCB Business Unit General Manager John Manferdelli provided a first look at the new technology, which employs a new security computing chip, along with design changes to a computer's central processing unit (CPU), chipsets, and input and output devices, such as keyboards and the computers screen. With NGSCB, applications will run in a protected memory space that is highly resistant to software tampering and interference.

This week at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2003 in New Orleans, Microsoft is providing hardware partners with extensive information about NGSCB, how it works, and the opportunities could provide the computer-hardware industry. To learn more about NGSCB and find out about some of the developments that have occurred since last June, PressPass spoke with two members of two NGSCB team: Bryan Willman, who is a leading Microsoft Windows architect, and Peter Biddle, a product unit manager in the Security Business Unit, the group responsible for building NGSCB.