Close your eyes, and imagine a world where booting up your computer wasn’t a susceptibility point for attacks. Imagine a Root of Trust that’s integrated into the CPU. Imagine all of your devices being protected against advanced attacks. Now, what if I told you there’s a cutting-edge processor that’s battle-tested for hardware penetrations, easy to update, and protects credentials, encryption keys, and personal data all at once? What if I told you it was already here, and your systems might already be using it?! Open your eyes, and get ready to be amazed! It’s Pluton, baby! Peter Waxman, Group Program Manager at Microsoft, joins hosts Nic Fillingham and Natalia Godyla in a tell-all about Pluton. Trust us, Pluton is sure to knock your SOCs off (that’s System on a Chip)!

Now that your eyes have been opened to a more secure system, we’d like to ask you to keep the volume down, because you’ve just entered the Library of Threats. While it may sound like inspiration for the next installment of National Treasure, you won’t find Nicolas Cage in this library (at least you shouldn’t). However, you will find Madeline Carmichael, MSTIC’s Threat Intel Librarian, whose movie-worthy title is just as impressive as it sounds. To be honest though, you might not find anyone in the library, as it bears more resemblance to Professor X’s Cerebro than it does your local hardcover sanctuary.  

In This Episode, You Will Learn:   

• What the Pluton Security Processor is and how it was created 
• The architecture of the Pluton Security Processor 
• What challenges were faced while bringing the Pluton Security Processor to life 
• The Root of Trust today vs. The Future with Pluton 
• The naming systems for threat actors, from periodic elements to volcanoes 

Some Questions We Ask: 

• What differentiates the Pluton Security Processor from previous methodologies? 
• Why is the Pluton Processor better than what we have used in the past?   
• What challenges lie ahead with the next steps around Pluton? 
• What has changed since Pluton was in Xbox to where it is now? 
• What tools and platforms does a Threat Intel Librarian utilize? 

Resources: 

Microsoft Pluton Announcement

Peter’s LinkedIn

Madeline’s LinkedIn 

Microsoft Security Blog

Nic’s LinkedIn

Natalia’s LinkedIn

Related:

Listen to: Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson

Listen to: Security Unlocked: CISO Series with Bret Arsenault 

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcasts

Security Unlocked is produced by Microsoft and distributed as part of The CyberWire Network. 

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