The term Trustworthy Computing (TwC) has been applied to computing systems that are inherently
secure, available, and reliable. It is particularly associated with the
Microsoft initiative of the same name, launched in 2002.
History
Until 1995, there were restrictions on commercial traffic over the
Internet.[1][2][3][4]
On, May 26, 1995, Bill Gates sent the "Internet Tidal Wave" memorandum to Microsoft executives assigning "...the Internet this highest level of importance..."[5] but Microsoft's
Windows 95 was released without a
web browser as Microsoft had not yet developed one. The success of the web had caught them by surprise[6] but by mid 1995, they were testing their own web server,[7] and on August 24, 1995, launched a major
online service,
MSN.[8]
The
National Research Council recognized that the rise of the Internet simultaneously increased societal reliance on computer systems while increasing the vulnerability of such systems to failure and produced an important report in 1999, "Trust in Cyberspace".[9] This report reviews the cost of un-trustworthy systems and identifies actions required for improvement.
Microsoft and Trustworthy Computing
Bill Gates launched Microsoft's "Trustworthy Computing" initiative with a January 15, 2002 memo,[10] referencing an internal whitepaper by Microsoft CTO and Senior Vice President
Craig Mundie.[11] The move was reportedly prompted by the fact that they "...had been under fire from some of its larger customers–government agencies, financial companies and others–about the security problems in Windows, issues that were being brought front and center by a series of self-replicating worms and embarrassing attacks."[12] such as
Code Red,
Nimda,
Klez and
Slammer.
Four areas were identified as the initiative's key areas: Security, Privacy, Reliability, and Business Integrity,[11] and despite some initial scepticism, at its 10-year anniversary it was generally accepted as having "...made a positive impact on the industry...".[13][14]
The Trustworthy Computing campaign was the main reason why
Easter eggs disappeared from
Windows,
Office and other Microsoft products.[15]
^Management of NSFNETArchived 2013-07-28 at the
Wayback Machine, a transcript of the March 12, 1992 hearing before the Subcommittee on Science of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, Second Session, Hon.
Rick Boucher, subcommittee chairman, presiding.
^Gates, Bill –
The Internet Tidal WaveArchived 2009-07-15 at the
Wayback Machine. Microsoft, May 26, 1995. Made publicly available at United States Department of Justice. United States v. Microsoft Trial Exhibits.