VeriSign and Intel have announced they will be working together to
make notebooks more secure by integrating VeriSign's digital
certificates into Intel's Banias notebook processors.
Digital certificates are used in Internet transactions to verify
the identities of users. VeriSign will tailor its certificates and
its Personal Trust Agent to notebooks based on Banias processors.
That will allow notebook manufacturers to place the company's
security products directly onto notebooks in production.
With the digital certificates integrated into the hardware, it will
be harder for hackers to steal them through networks, the companies
said. Many remote users need hardware tokens to access corporate
networks, but this will be eliminated by putting the digital
certificates right onto the notebook's processor.
The companies said they had signed a multi-year agreement for the
integration of digital certificates with hardware.
Banias will be released early next year.