Intel To Embed Serial Numbers On Pentium III Chips

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January 20, 1999 (2:15 PM EST)

Intel To Embed Serial Numbers On Pentium III Chips

EBN has learned that Intel will announce on Thursday a new Pentium III security feature -- an embedded individual serial number in each chip -- that can identify the user.

The digital serial number is meant to augment additional transaction security techniques, such as passwords and encryption.

An Intel spokesman said the individual serial number will initially be available only on the new upcoming Pentium III processors. Ultimately, he said he expected the security feature to be added across the line to Celeron chips, as well.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip giant will also disclose it is adding a hardware-generated completely random number generator along with its processors to provide the greatest possible encryption security.

The Intel spokesman said, however, that the company isn't building an encryption chip, as erroneously reported in mainstream press earlier this week. The number generator works in conjunction with a wide range of available software-encryption systems, by providing a totally random array of numbers for software-coding algorithms.

"Present software pseudo-random number generators still have a pattern that a very sensitive code breaker can ultimately detect and break the encrypted message," he said.

The Intel solution generates codes wholly at random, giving code breakers no pattern in trying to decipher.