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Business
Home Business Companies Intel

Intel won't back down on chip ID feature

Execs point to FreePC.com as proof that privacy and technology can
co-exist.
zd-defaultauthor-robert-lemos.jpg
Written by Robert Lemos, Contributor on Feb. 23, 1999

  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Intel Corp. has little intention of backing
away from plans to ship Pentium III chips with a controversial ID
tracking technology, two Intel executives say.

Indeed, if Intel has learned anything, it is the value of patience.

"The issue is what will be acceptable and when," said Paul Otellini,
executive vice president of Intel's architecture business group
during an interview at the Intel Developers Forum here.

While surprised at the level of public outcry at Intel's (Nasdaq:INTC
) decision to add electronically identifiable serial numbers in its
next generation of processors, Otellini has no doubt that the Santa
Clara, Calif. company's security scheme will eventually gain
acceptance in the market.

He pointed to the 500,000-plus people who signed up for FreePC.com's
giveaway of computers. To get one of the 30,000 PCs, each customer
would be subject to constant advertisements and give up a great deal
of personal information.

"The people who are willing to give up their privacy for a free PC
are our market," he said.

Intel announced it had added a 64-bit serial number to its processors
that, along with a previous 32-bit CPU ID, identifies every
processor, acting like a vehicle ID number. While Intel will not
collect the serial numbers, the company expects e-commerce companies
and corporations to use the identifiers to enhance security.

After outraged privacy advocates called for a boycott of Intel
products, the company backed off somewhat: Although it preferred
computer makers to keep the chip 'on" by default, it gave them the
option of turning it off. On Monday, a report from a German computer
magazine that the serial number could be turned on by hackers -- even
when the consumer had turned it off -- has left the status of the ID
number at shipping in doubt.

What's the problem?
In the wake of the debate, Intel is having trouble reconciling a
public worried about privacy with consumers who are willing to give
it up for a free product.

"Why does adding 64 fuses to a chip raise such a brouhaha?" said Pat
Gelsinger, vice president and general manager of Intel's desktop
products group. "You have no less than three ID numbers on your
computer that can be used to identify you."

But to one online privacy advocate, Junkbusters Corp. CEO Jason
Catlett, the Intel executive's argument leaves out an important
point.

"Gelsinger is right when he says that there are several numbers on
parts of a PC that could be used to identify people, but none of the
manufacturers of those parts has proposed the numbers be used as an
ID in an e-commerce transaction," Catlett said.

Since the Pentium III ID number is included for the express purpose
of identifying consumers to marketers, he predicted it would usher in
privacy problems similar to those that have arisen with Social
Security numbers.

"We all know what happened with Social Security numbers -- we didn't
get much security, but we did get a whole lot of privacy problems,
theft of identity, and thousands of databases full of personal
profiles," Catlett said.

Gelsinger believes that the actual debate is less about Intel's plans
and more about privacy-conscious consumers becoming accustomed to the
current lack of privacy on the Internet. "I think there is a bubbling
concern about developing relationships on the Internet," he said. "In
our Internet society, the mores and procedures for privacy and social
norms have yet to be developed. The Pentium III just released the
tension."

Intel had tried to avoid the controversy by polling privacy advocates
and the industry alike. "We had the discussion -- whether to have it
on or off -- and there was no clear consensus," said Otellini. "Our
belief is that as long as people had informed choice there would be
no problem."

Shouldn't be regulated
Privacy advocates argue that there would be little choice left to the
consumers. Instead, key features -- such as financial transactions at
banks and stock trading at online services -- may require the
consumer to turn the processor on.

Still, Intel has taken a firm stance against regulating privacy
online. "The technology industry -- just like we don't want the
Internet regulated -- we don't want to be regulated by privacy
policies," said Pat Gelsinger. "You will never hear Intel say they
need regulation."

David Sobel, general counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information
Center, called Otellini's and Gelsinger's comments at the conference
"disappointing and a little bit surprising" given the outcry over the
chip ID number.

"We have never been satisfied with the so-called fix they have
proposed," which involved asking OEMs to turn the ID feature off
before shipping systems equipped with the chip, Sobel said. "For them
to claim they have made a concession on this is disingenuous,"
particularly in light of reports that the feature is vulnerable to
hacking, he said.

ZDNN's Maria Seminerio contributed to this story.



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