Intel Corp will embed individual identification codes and a random number generator on all its processors, starting with the Pentium III, due out in February. Intel sees the move as way to boost confidence in the security of internet transactions as well as making software piracy more difficult. An Intel spokesperson said that the ID code could help prevent internet credit card fraud – disallowing credit card transactions that did not also use the machine’s CPU ID number. The spokesperson also envisaged the security features as a way of preventing software piracy. For instance, an application could ‘register’ the processor’s code number; the program would then only run on the PC that had the code number. According to Intel the random number generator should make encryption routines tougher to crack because security software can use the processor’s array rather than software random number generators, which show a pattern that can be deciphered over time. One worrying side effect of the individual chip ID code is that it opens up the possibility of ‘cyber-stalking’ – for instance credit agencies tracking users across the internet. The spokesperson pointed out that the security features could be switched on and off by way of an applet that will be available from the Intel web site. He also decried notions of Intel becoming a Big Brother type figure able to pinpoint the location of its chips through the net, denying that the company had any plans to use the codes in that way.
