The company integrated Trammel Hudson’s Heads security firmware with Trusted Platform Module into its Librem laptops

Feb 27, 2018 16:00 GMT  ·  By

Purism, the computer technology company selling security-focused Linux laptops, announced today the successful implementation of Trammel Hudson’s Heads security firmware into their Librem laptops running coreboot and TPM (Trusted Platform Module).

Purism sells security-oriented Librem 13 and Librem 15 laptops running PureOS, a Linux-based operating system designed with security in mind and based on Debian GNU/Linux. Earlier this month, the company announced that they've managed to boot PureOS with the coreboot (formerly known as LinuxBIOS) open-source extended firmware platform, and all new laptop shipments with come with coreboot.

Coreboot enables Purism's Librem laptops to boot fast and offer users a secure boot experience. Today, Purism raises the bar on security by integrating Trammel Hudson’s Heads security firmware with TPM (Trusted Platform Module) support into their coreboot-enabled laptops, giving users full control over the boot process. In addition, users will be able to freely inspect the code, and even build and install it themselves.

"Your privacy is dependent on your freedom. We believe that having true privacy means your computer and data should be under your control, and not controlled by big tech corporations," says Todd Weaver, Founder and CEO of Purism. "By activating Heads in our TPM-enabled coreboot by default on all our laptops, this critical piece combined with the rest of our security features will make Librem laptops the most secure laptop you can buy where you hold the keys."

Users can now test if their laptops have been tampered with

With the addition of Trammel Hudson’s Heads security firmware on top of coreboot and Trusted Platform Module, Librem laptop users will now be able to test their computers and see if anyone has tampered with the boot process or any other installed software. As such, Purism is now proud to announce that they sell the most secure Linux laptops on the market. Their laptops also come with the Intel Management Engine disabled by default for extra security.

Purism says that this major achievement wasn't possible without the help of early TPM adopters. The company will start including new chips that integrate Trammel Hudson’s Heads security firmware with Trusted Platform Module support on all new Librem 13 and Librem 15 orders by default, which are expected to ship as soon as this month. Being a hardware advancement, existing users won't be getting this extra security layer. In the meanwhile, Purism works hard on their first Linux-powered smartphone, the Librem 5, coming early next year.

Purism's Librem 13 laptop with Heads and TPM
Purism's Librem 13 laptop with Heads and TPM

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Purism's Librem 13 laptop
Purism's Librem 13 laptop with Heads and TPM
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