Intel retreats on IDs for chips

Intel has modified its plans to embed an identifying signature in its next generation of computer chips, bowing to protests that the technology would compromise the privacy of users.

Intel, which makes about 85 per cent of the world's computer processors, had announced that each of its forthcoming Pentium III chips would have an identifying serial number that would enhance the security of electronic commerce and guard against software piracy.

But advocacy groups called for a consumer boycott of the chip, saying they feared it would mark a further erosion of anonymity on the Internet and would allow companies to collect detailed profiles of consumers, which could then be resold.

Intel then said it would modify the identification system in the new chips so that it was automatically disabled unless the computer user voluntarily turned it on. The company said it would also offer free software to allow customers to turn off the feature permanently.

'We've always understood that there are security questions that get raised when someone is providing identification in a transaction,' Tom Waldrop, an Intel spokesman, said. 'Whether an individual is showing a driver's licence or handing over a credit card number, it always raises a privacy question. We have done things to address that. You have to weigh the positive value of having more secured Internet transactions, more secure electronic commerce, against privacy concerns.' Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Centre, a privacy advocacy group in Washington, DC, said it was merely a 'temporary fix'. 'It can be as easily disabled as enabled. There's not enough assurance here that the chip will not be misused.' Intel said it would continue to work with consumer groups to allay fears about the new chip.

Intel said the chip signature was intended to promote the growth of electronic commerce by giving companies a better way to verify identities of customers. It could also be used to avoid piracy by preventing a single copy of a program from being installed on several machines.

Junkbusters, a US high-tech lobbying group, said in a statement on its Web site: 'Intel's proposal to put a unique ID code inside of every computer it sells will significantly reduce the level of privacy available to computer users around the world. The unique code will make possible far more extensive tracking and profiling of individual activity, without either the knowledge or consent of the user.' Intel said it would not maintain a master database of consumer names matched to Pentium serial numbers. It would also encourage Web sites and software programmers to warn consumers whenever the serial number was retrieved.

While much of the privacy debate has focused on how online marketers and companies collect personal information, the new technology also raises concerns about whether it could be used by law enforcement officials and governments.

'We've always thought that in this debate over authentication, governments would like more rather than less,' Mr Rotenberg said. 'This is the flip side of anonymity, and governments are pushing for authentication. So there are some real concerns about government control.' Gary Clayton, counsel and senior privacy analyst for Stone Investments, a technology investment firm in Dallas, said while there were some legitimate concerns with the new technology, 'this is designed to actually protect people from something privacy advocates have been talking about, which is theft of personal information and fraud.' The US Federal Trade Commission, which has investigated Intel for anti-trust actions, said it was unlikely to file a complaint against the chipmaker.

An Intel Asia executive has rejected warnings from advocacy groups that the company's new identifying signature software package could compromise personal privacy.

The line is due for release this year and, like the forthcoming desktop Pentium III, would 'be shipped so the default is off', Fred Litwin, Intel Asia Pacific marketing manager for desktop platforms, said.

Users would need a software utility to activate the feature.

It has been speculated the software could be pirated to turn the feature on without the PC user's consent.

'It's probably theoretically possible [but] it would be difficult to do that without alerting the user whenever there's a change on the PC,' Mr Litwin said.

Intel last week released its first line of low-cost Celeron microprocessors for notebooks in speeds of 266 MHz and 300 MHz, which cost US$172 and $253 respectively. They are aimed at sub-$2,000 laptop PCs.

It also released Pentium II microprocessors for high-end laptops at speeds of 333 MHz and 366 MHz with 256 kilobytes of integrated secondary cache memory that boosts computer performance.

Earlier mobile processors required the cache to be put on a separate package.

YVONNE CHAN