Research: Analysis of Trusted Platform Module chips

The goal of the research is to get a better understanding of the Trusted Platform Modules ecosystem. Such information is vital for the designers and developers using this technology, allowing them to answer questions like What fraction of devices has a TPM chip? Which cryptographic algorithms are widely supported? What is the overhead of computing a digital signature?

The research consists of two primary steps:

  1. Collection of raw data about TPM chips deployed in real-world devices like notebooks, desktops, and servers (the part we are asking you for kind help with).
  2. Analysis of the data collected to provide insight into the TPM ecosystem (done by us, resulting in a summary of the most important findings, scientific paper, and research dataset available for replicability and further research).

Upload collected data here  What data do we collect?

How to collect data via Live Bootable Image

The data collection consists of 3 principal steps:

  1. Preparation of bootable USB drive (20 minutes to download image and 10 minutes to setup)
  2. TPM data collection (typically 1-3 hours, 5 hours at most) using a live image
  3. Send collected data (anonymous upload, email)
  • (step 2., and 3., can be repeated for multiple computers; no need to create a USB drive again)

1. Preparation of bootable USB drive

Duration: The preparation of a bootable device will take approximately 20 minutes to download the image and 10 minutes to set up.

  1. Prepare an empty USB drive with at least 4GB size (IMPORTANT: all content will be erased)
  2. Download live USB image: algtest-usb-disk.img and save to disk
  3. Download and install Balena Etcher (Windows, Linux, Mac) to create a bootable USB drive. (Alternatively, you may use Rufus instead (Windows only)).
  4. Run Balena Etcher, click Select image and browse for previously downloaded algtest-usb-disk.img on your disk
  5. Insert empty USB drive, click Select target, and pick the USB disk
    • (double-check that the displayed drive is your intended USB drive – check the label and check size)
  6. Click Flash! and wait approximately 5 minutes until flashing is completed.

Download Balena Etcher   Download USB image    Secondary mirror     GPG signature   (key)

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2. Data collection

Duration: Running the Fedora-based system from the bootable device and data collection will take approximately 1-3 hours (8 at most).

  • Place your computer in a steady location (on the desk) and plug-in the power cable.
  • Insert the installed USB drive from step 1 into the computer and restart your machine.
  • If prompted, select boot from USB device instead of standard disk. Select Start Fedora-algtest-Live 37 boot option.

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  • Wait until the Fedora-based TPM testing system is booted. Read the summary of the data we are collecting.

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  • Press the Start basic test button
    • Check that test has started and is running (Log window contains 'XX:YY:ZZ Starting TPM test…').

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  • Wait for 1-3 (5 at most) hours until the test is finished (100% Test progress).
    • IMPORTANT: If the test will not finish even after 5 hours and no visible progress is seen, please press the Stop button and continue to upload the partial results.
  • Press the Upload results button (if network is configured)

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  • Press the Shutdown PC button; wait until your machine is stopped. Unplug the USB drive.
  • Restart your computer to your standard environment

3. Submit collected data

  1. Make sure the USB drive is unplugged.
  2. Start into your standard environment (e.g., Windows, Linux).
  3. Plug the USB drive, new drive with label ALGTEST_RES is mounted (e.g., 'E:\').
  4. Locate file(s) with a file name in the form of algtest_result_xxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx.zip.
  5. Visit the page https://is.muni.cz/dok/depository_in?lang=en;vybos_vzorek=4085 and follow instructions on how to upload the file (no authentication required, just drop the files). Alternatively, send an email to Petr Svenda tpm.crocs@gmail.com with the file algtest_result_xxx.zip attached.

Upload collected data here  or send data by email to <tpm.crocs@gmail.com>.

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You are now all good and helped research – Thank you a LOT! 🎉

Troubleshooting

Issue: Solutions below do not solve the problem

Solution: If you have any issue that the solutions below will not help with, please notify us at tpm.crocs@gmail.com.

Issue: The bootable image cannot be downloaded

Solution: Download from the secondary backup location. Please notify us at tpm.crocs@gmail.com.

Issue: The live Fedora system will not start to boot

Solution: Go to BIOS (press F1, F8, F12, Enter, or a special button depending on your computer), select the alternative boot device (USB you flashed), and continue

Issue: The live Fedora system will stop with an error during boot

Solution: Try to change the USB slot used to insert the bootable USB disk, and try to put the device into a stable position to prevent interruption of communication to the USB disk.

Issue: The TPM data collection will start but finish very quickly (less than 10 seconds) with the error 'Cannot collect TPM 2.0 info. Your TPM may probably be disabled in BIOS, or you do not have a TPM 2.0.'

Solution 1: Restart your computer, enter BIOS (press F1, F8, F12, Enter or special button right), and enable option named 'TPM chip,' 'Security chip,' or similar. Then try to boot from USB again.

Solution 2: Try to update your BIOS if possible (older BIOSes are known to have incompatibility with some TPM chips under Linux). Then restart and boot from USB again.

Please submit the results even if the error persists.

Issue: I want to see the source code and build a live image myself

Solution: You are more than welcome, please visit https://github.com/danzatt/tpm2_algtest_live for live image builder repository and https://github.com/crocs-muni/tpm2-algtest (collection tool itself).

Research details

 Experiment: Analysis of Trusted Platform Modules

 Primary contact: doc. Petr Svenda <svenda@fi.muni.cz>

 Research institute: CRoCS laboratory, Masaryk University and Red Hat Czech

 Collected data:

We do not collect any personal data. We collect only the TPM chip metadata, PCR registers, supported cryptographic algorithms, output of random number generator, performance measurements and temporary cryptographic keys generated by TPM chip, product name of your device (e.g., Lenovo ThinkBook 15) and anonymized endorsement key certificates. We plan to release the data collected later as an open research dataset.

Data we collect:

  • Device vendor, type (e.g., Lenovo ThinkBook 15) and BIOS version.
  • TPM vendor, firmware version (e.g., Intel 401.1.0.0) and TPM version-related information.
  • TPM PCR registers (see Capability_pcrread.txt).
  • TPM metadata (TPM2_PT_xxx properties like TPM2_PT_REVISION, TPM2_PT_MANUFACTURER or TPM2_PT_PCR_COUNT – see file Capability_properties-fixed.txt and Capability_properties-variable.txt for full list).
  • Algorithms and commands supported by TPM (see Capability_algorithms.txt and Capability_commands.txt for full list).
  • Performance measurements for various cryptographic algorithms (see Perf_xxx.csv files).
  • Freshly generated transient keys and signatures for ECC and RSA (see Keygen_xxx.csv and Cryptoops_xxx.csv).
  • Generated random data (see Rng.bin).
  • Anonymized endorsement key (EK) certificates (see Capability_ek-xxx.txt').
  • Note: All mentioned files are stored inside the algtest_result_xxx.zip file.

Data we do NOT collect:

  • Personal information about the user of the analyzed computer.
  • Full endorsement keys (we collect only the first and the last two bytes).
  • Attestation key(s).
  • User-specific content of the non-volatile TPM memory (NVRAM).

Data Retention:

  • We plan to release the data collected as open research dataset to enable wider research cooperation.
  • The CRoCS research team will first analyze the data collected for the purpose of analyzing the current TPM chip ecosystem. We plan to release the data collected together with the research findings.